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Medal of
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Of the 3,460 Medals of Honor awarded since the inception of the award, 19 individual servicemen have received TWO awards of the Medal. It is these 19 DOUBLE AWARDEES that often create the greatest amount of confusion when one is examining Medal of Honor statistics. To better understand the numbers it is necessary to break these 19 heroes into three groups.
During World War I a total of 8 Marines received Medals of Honor. Two were Marine aviators of the 1st Marine Aviation Force. The remaining six were members of the 5th and 6th Regiments of the 2nd Division, working closely with their Army counterparts. Five of the six received BOTH the Army and Navy Medals of Honor for the same deed, with a separate citation from each branch of service. The sixth Marine, Fred William Stockham, received ONLY the Army Medal of Honor for the action that cost him his life.
The FIVE Marine Corps Heroes who received BOTH the Army and the Navy Medal of Honor for the same action during World War I are listed below.
Name Date of Action Unit:
GySgt Charles F. Hoffman
aka: Ernest August JansonJun 6, 1918 2nd Division, 5th Regiment Sgt Louis Cukela Jul 18, 1918 2nd Division, 5th Regiment KIA Sgt Matej Kocak Jul 18, 1918 2nd Division, 5th Regiment Pvt John Joseph Kelly Oct 3, 1918 2nd Division, 6th Regiment KIA Cpl John Henry Pruitt Oct 3, 1918 2nd Division, 6th Regiment The remaining 14 heroes received DOUBLE awards for SEPARATE ACTIONS (each of them performing two individual acts of heroism.) These 14 double awardees sometimes cause additional confusion when one views Medal of Honor statistics counted by war or period because 7 of the heroes received their Medal during the SAME WAR OR PERIOD so they are often counted only once, while 7 others received their awards in SEPARATE WARS OR PERIODS so they are counted twice.
The Seven Heroes listed here received TWO Medals of Honor for SEPARATE ACTIONS DURING THE SAME WAR OR PERIOD.
*Indicates Non-Combat AwardName War/Period 1st AWARD
2d AWARD
2d Lt. Thomas Ward Custer Army Civil War Apr 3, 1865 Apr 6, 1865 Pvt Henry Hogan Army Indian Wars Oct 21, 1876 Sep 30, 1877 Sgt. William Wilson Army Indian Wars Mar 28, 1872 Sep 29, 1872 O/Seaman Robert A. Sweeney Navy Interim 1871-1898 Oct 26, 1881* Dec 20, 1883* Cpt/MT Albert Weisbogel Navy Interim 1871-1898 Jan 11, 1874* Apr 27, 1876* Cpt/H Louis Williams
aka Ludwig Andreas OlsenNavy Interim 1871-1898 Mar 16, 1883* Jun 13, 1884* Watertender John King Navy Interim 1899-1910 May 29, 1901* Sep 13, 1909*
The Seven Heroes listed here received TWO Medals of Honor for SEPARATE ACTIONS DURING DIFFERENT WARS/PERIODS.
*Indicates Non-Combat AwardName War/Period
Date
Frank Dwight Baldwin Army 1st AWARD Civil War Jul 12, 1864 2d AWARD Indian Wars Nov 8, 1874 John Cooper
aka: John Laver MatherNavy 1st AWARD Civil War Aug 5, 1864 2d AWARD Interim 1865-1870 Apr 26, 1865* John Lafferty
aka: John LavertyNavy 1st AWARD Civil War May 25, 1864 2d AWARD Interim 1871-1898 Sep 14, 1881* Patrick Mullen Navy 1st AWARD Civil War Mar 17, 1865 2d AWARD Interim 1865-1870 May 1, 1865* Daniel Joseph Daly USMC 1st AWARD China Aug 14, 1900 2d AWARD Haiti Oct 24, 1915 John McCloy Navy 1st AWARD China Jun 20, 1900 2d AWARD Mexico Apr 22, 1914 Smedley Darlington Butler USMC 1st AWARD Mexico Apr 22, 1914 2d AWARD Haiti Nov 17, 1915
Since the reviews and changes of 1917 the laws governing award of the Medal of Honor have ended all DOUBLE awards of the Medal of Honor. All other awards in the Pyramid of Honor can be awarded multiple times for different acts, each successive award noted by a DEVICE worn on the ribbon for the first award. A soldier may be nominated repeatedly for the Medal of Honor, indeed during the Vietnam War Special Forces hero Robert L. Howard was submitted for the Medal of Honor three different times before he was finally awarded the Medal. But the Medal of Honor may now be awarded ONLY ONCE.
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