The Congressional Medal of Honor, established during the Civil War, pays tribute to a person who has "distinguished himself conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty." Washington Literacy Council board member Mikaelian spotlights 11 of the 3,456 soldiers who have received this legendary honor, while 60 Minutes' Wallace supplies historical context with his introduction and brief, general commentaries on various U.S. wars. The book's lively vignettes not only describe the battles faced by the men (and one woman), but also trace the ways the Medal affected their later lives. The book profiles Hiroshi Miyamura, a Korean War marine who fought back Chinese soldiers when he and fellow troops were isolated in a mountain pass on the Chinese-Korean border; as well as Dwight Johnson, a celebrated Vietnam vet deeply conflicted about his role in the war and especially about his recruitment of fellow young black men into the armed services. The practice of Mary Edwards Walker, a Civil War doctor who is the only woman to have won the Medal, fell into controversy after the war, leading the government to revoke her Medal toward the end of her life—when she was an isolated eccentric and, literally, a sideshow curiosity. This absorbing set of accounts should appeal to military history enthusiasts and anyone interested in the heroic exploits of ordinary Americans. (May)
