On Monday April 4, 2005 Sgt. 1st Class Paul R. Smith became the 3,460th recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor.

Mr. Smith “distinguished himself conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty,” one year ago to the day for action in Operation Iraqi Freedom, which “saved the lives of at least 100 Soldiers, caused the failure of a deliberate enemy attack hours after 1st Brigade seized the Baghdad Airport, and resulted in an estimated 20-50 enemy soldiers killed.”

The history of the Medal of Honor goes back to December 9, 1861 when an Iowa senator introduced a bill that would distribute the “medals of honor” to “promote the efficiency of the Navy.” By the end of the month the bill was signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln. Over half a year later, in 1862, he signed a new law that would create an equivalent award for the Army.

The medal—among scores of military service medals given since 1862—is the highest given to military service personnel in the United States, and covers conflicts which include the Civil War (1,522 awardees), the “Indian Campaigns” (426), World War II (464), and Vietnam (245). Over 600 medals have been awarded posthumously, the bulk of the awardees have been from the Army, nine have been given to unknown recipients, and as of February 7th of this year, there were 127 living recipients.

And while the Civil War figure above is the highest of all the conflicts to date, it only represents medals given to Union soldiers of the northern states and does not include those from the Confederate Army who made similar sacrifices, even if for different reasons.

It has also been awarded to only one woman in its over 140-year history. Mary Walker was a Civil War “assistant surgeon” who was awarded the medal for actions during the Battle of Bull Run in July of 1861. However, in a purge about 40 years later, her medal was revoked due to her civilian status—a distinction, until her medal was restored in 1977, she would share with five others, including Buffalo Bill Cody. Cody’s was restored in 1989.

According to the Encyclopedia Americana, The Purple Heart, probably the most widely known medal in US history, was established in 1782 by George Washington and designed by Paris-born Pierre Charles L’Enfant, also the designer of Washington, D.C. It was created for Revolutionary War service and was originally called the Badge of Military Merit. It wasn’t until nearly 250 years later that it was resurrected and has been in use ever since.

Also . . .

Medal Of Honor FAQs (Congressional Medal of Honor Society)

Medal of Honor citations (US Army)

Recommendation Process (US Army)

What are the guidelines for which the medal could be awarded? (CMHS)

Civil War Medal of Honor awards (Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System, National Park Service)

The passing of Pope John Paul II has led to an analysis of his place in history.  As the third longest-reigning pontiff, he held the office for a little over 26 years. 

The EWTN / Global Catholic Network offers a list of the longest-serving pontiffs, as well as other information on papal topics on their See of Peter web page.   

For a definition of the Holy See, refer to the Catholic Encyclopedia, the 1913 15-volume reference book whose entries were volunteer-compiled by contributors all over the world in the late 1990s.