LIST OF AFRICAN AMERICAN MEDAL OF HONOR RECIPIENTS
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Three different versions of the Medal of Honor are awarded: one each for the Army, Navy (and Marines), and Air Force.
This is a 'list of African Americans' awarded the United States military's highest decoration—the 'Medal of Honor'. The Medal of Honor is bestowed "for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life, above and beyond the call of duty, in actual combat against an armed enemy force." The medal is awarded by the President of the United States on behalf of the Congress, and it is thus commonly known as the "Congressional Medal of Honor".
Of the 3,463 Medals of Honor awarded as of April 2007, 88 have been awarded to 87 different African American recipients.C. W. Hanna, ''African American recipients of the Medal of Honor'', 3; Note: Hanna includes Clement Dees in his count, while this list does not, because Dees' medal was rescinded. Robert Augustus Sweeney is one of only 19 men, and the only African American, to be awarded two Medals of Honor.[1]
| Contents |
| Civil War |
| Indian Wars |
| Spanish-American War |
| World War I |
| World War II |
| Korean War |
| Vietnam War |
| Peacetime |
| Notes |
| See also |
| References |
Civil War
Twenty-five African Americans earned the Medal of Honor during the American Civil War, including seven sailors of the Union Navy, fifteen soldiers of the United States Colored Troops, and three soldiers of other Army units. Fourteen African American men earned the medal for actions in the Battle of Chaffin's Farm, where a division of U.S. Colored Troops saw heavy action. Another four men, all sailors, earned their medals at the Battle of Mobile Bay. William Harvey Carney was the first African American to perform an action for which a Medal of Honor was awarded, but Robert Blake was the first to actually receive the medal (Blake's was issued in 1864, Carney did not receive his until 1900). While it was common for Civil War Medals of Honor to be awarded decades after the conflict ended, Andrew Jackson Smith's medal was not awarded until 2001, 137 years after the action in which he earned it. Smith's wait, caused by a missing battle report, is the longest delay of the award for any recipient, African American or otherwise.
Indian Wars
Eighteen African Americans earned the Medal of Honor during the Indian Wars of the western United States. Fourteen were "Buffalo Soldiers", members of the Army's first peacetime black regiments. The four Buffalo Soldier regiments, the 9th Cavalry, 10th Cavalry, 24th Infantry, and 25th Infantry, fought in campaigns throughout the west. The remaining four Medal of Honor recipients were U.S. Army Indian Scouts recruited from among the Black Seminoles, a group of Seminole Indians of African descent.
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Spanish-American War
Six African Americans earned the Medal of Honor during the Spanish-American War: five Buffalo Soldiers of the 10th Cavalry Regiment and one United States Navy sailor. Four of the five Buffalo Soldiers received the medal for rescuing a trapped landing party during the Battle of Tayacoba.
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World War I
Freddie Stowers was the only African American to receive the Medal of Honor for actions in World War I. Stowers had led an assault on German trenches, continuing to lead and encourage his men even after being twice wounded. Stowers died of his wounds, and was shortly afterwards recommended for the Medal of Honor; however, this recommendation was never processed. In 1990, the Department of the Army conducted a review and the Stowers recommendation was uncovered. An investigation was launched, and based on results of the investigation the award of the Medal of Honor was approved. Stowers' Medal of Honor was presented on April 24 1991—seventy-three years after he was killed-in-action.
| Name | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit at time of action | Rank at time of action | Final rank achieved | |
| Place of action | Date of action | Date of award | |
| 'Freddie Stowers' (1896—28 September 1918) | |||
| Army, 371st Infantry Regiment, 93d Division | Corporal | Corporal | |
| Hill 188, Champagne Marne Sector, France | 28 September 1918 | 24 April 1991 | |
World War II
In the years after World War II, no African American had yet been awarded the Medal of Honor for action in that conflict. It wasn't until 1992 that a study commissioned by the U.S. Army described systematic racial discrimination in the criteria for awarding medals during the war. After an exhaustive review of files the study recommended that several Distinguished Service Crosses awarded to African Americans be upgraded to the Medal of Honor. On January 13, 1997, more than fifty years after the end of the war, President Bill Clinton awarded the medal to seven African American World War II veterans. Vernon Baker was the only living recipient, the other six men had been killed in action or died in the intervening years.
| Name | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit at time of action | Rank at time of action | Final rank achieved | |
| Place of action | Date of action | Date of award | |
| 'Vernon Joseph Baker' (born 17 December 1919) |  Vernon J. Baker | ||
| Army, 370th Infantry Regiment, 92d Infantry Division (Colored) | Second Lieutenant | First Lieutenant | |
| near Viareggio, Italy | 5 April and 6 April 1945 | 13 January 1997 | |
| 'Edward Allen Carter, Jr.' (26 May 1916—January 30 1963) |  Edward A. Carter | ||
| Army, 56th Armored Infantry Battalion, 12th Armored Division | Staff Sergeant | Staff Sergeant | |
| near Speyer, Germany | 23 March 1945 | 13 January 1997 | |
| 'John Robert Fox' (18 May 1915—December 26 1944) |  John R. Fox | ||
| Army, 366th Infantry Regiment, 92nd Infantry Division (Colored) | First Lieutenant | First Lieutenant | |
| near Sommocolonia, Serchio Valley, Italy | 26 December 1944 | 13 January 1997 | |
| 'Willy F. James, Jr.' (18 March 1920—April 8 1945) | |||
| Army, 413th Infantry Regiment, 104th Infantry Division | Private First Class | Private First Class | |
| near Lippoldsberg, Germany | 7 April 1945 | 13 January 1997 | |
| 'Ruben Rivers' (30 October 1918—19 November 1944) |  Ruben Rivers | ||
| Army, 761st Tank Battalion (Colored) | Staff Sergeant | Staff Sergeant | |
| near Guebling, France | 15 November-19 November 1944 | 13 January 1997 | |
| 'Charles Leroy Thomas' (17 April 1920—15 February 1980) |  Charles L. Thomas | ||
| Army, 614th Tank Destroyer Battalion (Towed), 103rd Infantry Division | First Lieutenant | Major | |
| near Climbach, France | 14 December 1944 | 13 January 1997 | |
| 'George Watson' (14 March 1914—March 8 1943) | |||
| Army, 2nd Battalion, 29th Quartermaster Regiment | Private | Private | |
| at sea near Porloch Harbor, New Guinea | 8 March 1943 | 13 January 1997 | |
Korean War
Two African Americans received the Medal of Honor for action in the Korean War, both were soldiers of the 24th Infantry Regiment. Despite a 1948 Executive Order commanding the integration of the military, segregated units persisted until 1954; the 24th Infantry was one of the last remaining all-black regiments, and these two men were the last African Americans to receive the Medal of Honor for actions while serving in a segregated unit.
| Name | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit at time of action | Rank at time of action | Final rank achieved | |
| Place of action | Date of action | Date of award | |
| 'Cornelius H. Charlton' (24 July 1929—2 June 1951) |  Cornelius H. Charlton | ||
| Army, 24th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division | Sergeant | Sergeant | |
| Chipo-ri, Korea | 2 June 1951 | 19 March 1952 | |
| 'William Henry Thompson' (16 August 1927—August 6 1950) | |||
| Army, 24th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division | Private First Class | Private First Class | |
| Haman, Korea | 6 August 1950 | 2 August 1951 | |
Vietnam War
Twenty African Americans were awarded the Medal of Honor for actions in the Vietnam War, including James Anderson, Jr., the first African American Marine to receive the medal.
Peacetime
Prior to World War II, the Medal of Honor could be awarded for actions not involving direct combat with the enemy; eight African Americans earned the medal in this way, all of them sailors. Robert Augustus Sweeney received two peacetime Medals of Honor, one of only nineteen men, and the only African American, to be awarded the medal twice. Most of the non-combat medals, including both of Sweeney's, were awarded for rescuing or attempting to rescue someone from drowning.
Notes
1. List of Double MOH Recipients
See also
★ List of Medal of Honor recipients
★ Military history of African Americans
References
★ African American recipients of the Medal of Honor: a biographical dictionary, Civil War through Vietnam War, , Charles W., Hanna, McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, , ISBN 0-7864-1355-7
★ Medal of Honor Citations
★ World War II African American Medal of Honor Recipients
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