Wednesday, September 16, 2015
Medal of Honor Recipients at the State House
Today, we were honored to welcome members of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society as they visited the State House for a ceremony on the front steps overlooking the Boston Common. Recipients of the Medal of Honor are in Boston attending the society’s annual convention this week; this is the third time Boston has hosted them.
Bravery and self-sacrifice have been hallmarks of our service members from the very begging of our struggles for independence. In 1782, General George Washington presented the first military award for gallantry, the Badge of Military Merit; it wasn’t until 1862 when Congress adopted a resolution to create the Medal of Honor - -our nation’s highest military award for bravery.
Currently there are 78 living recipients of the Medal of Honor from World War II, Korea, Vietnam and Afghanistan; more than 40 are in Boston this week making visits to schools, libraries, and ceremonies so that they can share their stories.
If you have an opportunity to see one of these men, please thank them for their service, their actions above and beyond the call of duty have helped secure our freedoms and our democracy and they have liberated millions of people around the globe.
