Officially signed into law July 12, 1862, the United States Armed Forces' Medal of Honor is the country's oldest continuously awarded decoration. Its appearance and award criteria have changed since it was created by former Secretary of the Navy, Gideon Welles, Dec. 16, 1861. Originally created only for enlisted men, the award became available to commissioned officers in 1915.
The Medal of Honor was initially awarded for both combat and non-combat heroism; today it is presented, often posthumously, for "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life, above and beyond the call of duty."
It is usually presented personally to the recipient or, in the case of posthumous awards, to next of kin by the President of the United States. Due to the high regard for the Medal of Honor, it is customary for the recipient to be saluted regardless of rank. Recipients are always greeted and saluted before non-recipients are greeted or saluted.
The design of the Medal of Honor is rooted in the Civil War. Crafted by the artist Christian Schuller, the central design is a metaphor in which Columbia, in the form of the goddess Minerva, uses the shield of the republic to put down the figure of conflict, a reference to the unfolding split in our nation. The design is encircled by 38 stars, representing the states of the Union at the outbreak of the Civil War.
The month of July marks the birth of our military's most highly esteemed award. In celebration The Dolphin highlights a few very important figures in Navy and submarine history who went above and beyond the call of duty and risked, and in some cases even lost, their lives to save their shipmates.