By the numbers
Medal of Honor Facts & Records
Statistics calculated from every award in our archive. Ages are computed only where full birth and action dates are recorded.
3,555Medals of Honor
3,537individual recipients
669posthumous awards
19%posthumous share
65living recipients
754born abroad
18double recipients
412buried at Arlington
Medals by decade of action
By conflict
By service branch
Posthumous share by conflict (%)
Countries of birth (outside the U.S.)
States with the most medals
Most common ranks
Acts of valor recorded in citations
Other decorations most often held
How recipients died (where recorded)
Manner of death from Wikidata; many records are incomplete.
Youngest at the time of action
| Recipient | Age | Date |
|---|---|---|
| William "Willie" Johnston | 12 | July 5, 1862 |
| Orion P. Howe | 13 | May 19, 1863 |
| John Angling | 14 | December 24, 1864 |
| James Snedden | 14 | June 5, 1864 |
| William P. Johnston | 14 | March 2, 1864 |
| Joseph Burger | 14 | February 15, 1863 |
| James Granville Thompson | 15 | April 1, 1865 |
| Nathaniel Mcclean Gwynne | 15 | July 30, 1864 |
| Robinson Barr Murphy | 15 | July 28, 1864 |
| William Steinmetz | 15 | May 22, 1863 |
Oldest at the time of action
| Recipient | Age | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Douglas MacArthur | 61 | July 7 - 12, 1941 |
| Frank Friday Fletcher | 58 | April 21, 1914 |
| Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright IV | 58 | May 7, 1942 |
| Isaac Campbell Kidd | 57 | December 7, 1941 |
| William Rees Rush | 56 | April 21, 1914 |
| Theodore Roosevelt Jr. | 56 | June 6, 1944 |
| Robert Klein | 55 | January 25, 1904 |
| Henry McLaren Pinckney Huse | 55 | April 21, 1914 |
| Alexander Archer Vandegrift | 55 | August 7 - December 9, 1942 |
| Stephen Thomas | 54 | October 19, 1864 |
Longest wait for the medal
Years between the act of valor and the presentation.
| Recipient | Years | Presented |
|---|---|---|
| Philip G. Shadrach | 162 | 2024 |
| George D. Wilson | 162 | 2024 |
| Alonzo H. Cushing | 151 | 2014 |
| Andrew Jackson Smith | 136 | 2001 |
| Theodore Roosevelt | 102 | 2001 |
| Henry Johnson | 97 | 2015 |
| William Shemin | 96 | 2015 |
| Roderick W. "Roddie" Edmonds | 81 | 2026 |
| Garlin Murl Conner | 73 | 2018 |
| Adolphus Washington Greely | 73 | 1935 |
| Wataru Nakamura | 73 | 2025 |
| Bruno Raymond Abing Orig | 73 | 2025 |
Days with the most Medals of Honor
| Date | Medals |
|---|---|
| May 22, 1863 | 100 |
| August 5, 1864 | 98 |
| April 2, 1865 | 66 |
| April 6, 1865 | 60 |
| May 11, 1898 | 55 |
| April 21, 1914 | 40 |
| September 29, 1864 | 38 |
| May 12, 1864 | 35 |
| October 20, 1869 | 33 |
| January 15, 1865 | 31 |
| July 3, 1863 | 31 |
| October 21, 1876 | 30 |
| May 3, 1863 | 29 |
| July 2, 1863 | 28 |
| July 1, 1898 | 24 |
Longest-lived recipients
| Recipient | Age | Died |
|---|---|---|
| William Seach | 101 | 1978 |
| John William Finn | 100 | 2010 |
| Charles Henry Coolidge | 99 | 2021 |
| Edouard Victor michel Izac | 98 | 1990 |
| Robert Dale Maxwell | 98 | 2019 |
| Hershel Woodrow "Woody" Williams | 98 | 2022 |
| Charles Windolph | 98 | 1950 |
| Adelbert Ames | 97 | 1933 |
| Austin Denham | 97 | 1948 |
| Bernard John dowling Irwin | 97 | 1927 |
Recipients who held public office
From Congress and governorships to the Joint Chiefs (Wikidata).
| Recipient | Office |
|---|---|
| John Gregory bishop Adams | Sergeant at Arms of the United States House of Representatives; commander-in-chief |
| Adelbert Ames | United States senator; Governor of Mississippi |
| Beauford Theodore Anderson | mayor of a place in California |
| Henry Alanson Barnum | member of the New York State Assembly |
| James Franklin Bell | Chief of Staff of the United States Army |
| Henry Harrison Bingham | United States representative |
| John Charles Black | United States representative |
| Wilmon Whilldin Blackmar | Commander in Chief of the Grand Army of the Republic |
| Joel Thompson Boone | Physician to the President |
| Thomas Wilson Bradley | United States representative; member of the New York State Assembly |
| Willis Winter Bradley Jr. | United States representative; member of the California State Assembly |
| Maurice Lee (footsie) Britt | Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas |
| George Washington Brush | member of the State Senate of New York; member of the New York State Assembly |
| Joseph Burger | member of the Minnesota House of Representatives |
| Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain | Governor of Maine |
| Clyde Lee Choate | member of the Illinois House of Representatives |
| Clinton Albert Cilley | Mayor of Lenoir, North Carolina |
| Amos Jay Cummings | United States representative |
| Newton Martin Curtis | United States representative; member of the New York State Assembly |
| Byron M. Cutcheon | United States representative |
| Andrew Davidson | member of the State Senate of New York |
| Raymond Gilbert Davis | Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps |
| Louis Palma di Cesnola | Director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art |
| William Joseph "wild bill" Donovan | director; ambassador |
| Henry Algernon du Pont | United States senator |
| Ira Hobart Evans | Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives; member of the Texas House of Representatives |
| John Mcgreath Farquhar | United States representative |
| Frederick Funston Sr. | commandant; commanding officer |
| Charles N. Gardner | member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives |
| Nathan Green Gordon | Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas |
| John Frederic Hartranft | Governor of Pennsylvania |
| Guy Vernor Henry | Governor of Puerto Rico |
| Richmond Pearson Hobson | United States representative |
| George White Hooker | member of the Vermont House of Representatives |
| Charles F. Hopkins | Mayor of Boonton, New Jersey |
| Oliver Otis Howard | President of Howard University |
| Squire Edward Howard | member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives |
| Thomas Worcester Hyde | member of the State Senate of Maine |
| Daniel K. Inouye | United States representative; senator |
| Edouard Victor michel Izac | United States representative |
| Emil J. Kapaun | chaplain |
| Joseph Robert Kerrey | Governor of Nebraska; senator |
| Johann Christoph julius Langbein | member of the New York State Assembly |
| Arthur MacArthur Jr. | Governor-General of the Philippines |
| Douglas MacArthur | Chief of Staff of the United States Army |
| Charles Porter Mattocks | member of the Maine House of Representatives |
| Martin Thomas McMahon | United States Ambassador to Paraguay; member of the State Senate of New York |
| Nelson Appleton Miles | Commanding General of the United States Army; Governor of Puerto Rico |
| James P. Miller | Nebraska State Senator |
| William Edward Miller | member of the Pennsylvania State Senate |
| Albert Leopold Mills | Superintendent of the United States Military Academy; Chief of the National Guard Bureau |
| John Henry Moffitt | United States representative |
| St. Clair Agustin Mulholland | chief of police |
| Wendell Cushing Neville | Commandant of the Marine Corps |
| Charles Edward Phelps | United States representative |
| Samuel E. Pingree | Governor of Vermont |
| Horace Porter | United States Ambassador to France |
| Philip Sidney Post | United States representative |
| Matthew Stanley Quay | United States senator; Pennsylvania Treasurer |
| John Cleveland Robinson | Lieutenant Governor of New York |
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