Acts of valor
What They Did
Every citation describes a different kind of courage. We read all of them and grouped the recipients by the acts their citations record.
Gave Their Lives
Citations that record the recipient was killed or mortally wounded in the act for which the medal was awarded.
Act of valorRescue & Lifesaving
Recipients honored for saving others — pulling wounded comrades from fire, rescuing shipmates from the sea or burning wreckage.
Act of valorFlags & Colors
Capturing an enemy flag, rescuing or carrying the colors under fire — the defining act of 19th-century battlefield courage.
Act of valorWounded but Fought On
Recipients who kept fighting, leading or saving others after being wounded themselves.
Act of valorAssaults on Machine-Gun Nests
Charges against enemy machine-gun positions, bunkers and pillboxes — often alone.
Act of valorAviators & Aircrew
Pilots, gunners and crew members who earned the Medal of Honor in the air.
Act of valorSingle-Handed Actions
Actions the citation describes as carried out single-handedly.
Act of valorFire & Explosions at Sea
Sailors who fought fires, flooded magazines or stayed at their posts through boiler explosions.
Act of valorAgainst Enemy Armor
Soldiers and Marines who took on enemy tanks and armored vehicles.
Act of valorCovered a Grenade
Recipients who threw themselves on a live grenade — or deliberately shielded others from one — to save their comrades.
Act of valorMedics & Corpsmen
Army medics, Navy hospital corpsmen and surgeons who went to the wounded under fire.
Act of valorPrisoners of War
Recipients whose valor was displayed in captivity or escape.
Act of valorChaplains
Military chaplains who ministered to and rescued the wounded under fire.
Categories are assigned automatically by searching each official citation for the words that describe the act, so a few recipients may be missing from a category or appear in one unexpectedly. Each profile shows the full citation.