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Calvin Leon Graham (April 3, 1930 – November 6, 1992) was the youngest U.S. serviceman to serve and fight during World War II and was one of the few known child soldiers to fight on behalf of the United States in the conflict. [2]
The earliest action for which a U.S. serviceman earned a World War II Medal of Honor was the attack on Pearl Harbor, for which 17 U.S. servicemen were awarded a Medal, although they did so "while engaged in military operations involving conflict with an opposing foreign force" rather than "enemy" since the United States was neutral during the ...
The first African American recipient for this award was Robert Blake, who manned his post during a naval engagement against infantry while under heavy fire (William Harvey Carney is commonly and erroneously cited as the first African-American to receive a medal because his actions in combat did precede those of the other African-American ...
Salvatore Giunta, Medal of Honor, Army in Afghanistan war; Calvin L. Graham, USN, WWII, youngest Purple Heart recipient, 12 years old; Harold J. Greene, Army general; Eric Greitens, Navy SEAL, author and former governor of Missouri; Bo Gritz, conservative political activist; Gary Gordon, former member of Delta Force. Medal of Honor recipient
Before World War II, the Medal of Honor could be awarded for actions not involving direct combat with the enemy; eight African Americans earned the Medal in this way, all of them sailors. [2] Robert Augustus Sweeney received two peacetime Medals of Honor, one of only 19 men, and the only African American, to be awarded the medal twice.
The earliest Medal of Honor recipient educated at the United States Military Academy was John Cleveland Robinson, a non-graduating member of the class of 1839.The first alumnus of the United States Military Academy (USMA) to perform actions to be recognized with the Medal of Honor was Charles Henry Tompkins, a non-graduating member of the class of 1851, while the last alumnus to perform ...
The unknown soldier from the Vietnam War who was buried in the Tomb of the Unknowns was authorized a Medal of Honor and in 1998 was identified as 1st Lieutenant Michael Blassie, USAF. After DNA testing confirmed his identity, the remains were removed from the tomb and returned to Blassie's family, but the Medal of Honor did not transfer with him.
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is related to, but distinct from, the Medal of Freedom, an earlier award issued between 1945 and 1963 to honor US civilian contributions to World War II. In 2022 at the age of 25, athlete and activist Simone Biles became the youngest person to receive the award.