Interim 1899–1910: Medal of Honor Recipients

The new steel Navy of the early 20th century brought new dangers: high-pressure boilers, powder magazines and turret fires.

Until 1942 the Medal of Honor could be awarded for heroism that had nothing to do with combat. Most peacetime or “interim” medals went to sailors who plunged into rough seas to save shipmates, fought shipboard fires, or stayed at their posts through boiler explosions — acts of courage that the modern, combat-only criteria would recognize with lifesaving decorations instead.