Medal of Honor Recipient Articles

Medal of Honor: Donald Gilbert Cook – Vietnam War – 1964–1967

For three years in Viet Cong captivity, one Marine officer refused special treatment, gave his medicine and food to weaker prisoners, upheld the Code of Conduct without compromise, and knowingly accepted death rather than abandon his men.

MOH

Medal of Honor: Ova A. Kelley – World War II – December 8, 1944

Before dawn on Leyte, one private rose from his foxhole with a stack of grenades and charged alone into entrenched enemy fire—breaking a Japanese strongpoint, inspiring a full-company assault, and turning the tide of the battle.

MOH

Medal of Honor: Elmer E. Fryar – World War II – December 8, 1944

Wounded and alone on high ground, one paratrooper broke an enemy flanking attack, killed 27 soldiers, rescued wounded comrades, and finally threw himself into the path of a sniper’s burst—saving his platoon leader’s life with his own.

MOH

Medal of Honor: Angelo J. Liteky – Vietnam War – December 6, 1967

In the middle of a battalion-size ambush, an unarmed chaplain moved upright through machine-gun fire—carrying the wounded, shielding the dying, and refusing to leave the fight until more than twenty men were saved.

MOH

Medal of Honor: Cassin Young – World War II – December 7, 1941

Blown overboard by the explosion of USS Arizona, one commanding officer swam back through burning oil, climbed aboard his shattered ship, and calmly fought to save her in the midst of Pearl Harbor’s chaos.

MOH

Medal of Honor: James Richard Ward – World War II – December 7, 1941

As USS Oklahoma rolled under repeated torpedo hits, one young sailor stayed behind in the darkness of a turret, holding a flashlight to guide others out—choosing certain death so his shipmates could live.

MOH

Medal of Honor: Franklin Van Valkenburgh – World War II – December 7, 1941

On the bridge of USS Arizona, one captain remained at his battle station through fire, explosions, and chaos—fighting his ship to the last moment before a catastrophic magazine blast claimed his life.