Medal of Honor

Abstract

Twelve riveting interviews with living Medal of Honor recipients form the core of this excellent pbs program. The deftly edited interviews convey each individual's distinctive personality but leave us with as many questions as answers regarding the mysteries of why each man rose to perform extraordinary deeds. The interviews are embedded in wellchosen archival footage and tied together with an intelligent narrative. Medal of Honor also tells the stories of six deceased recipients, including the first recipient for the Iraq War, army Sgt. Paul Smith, and the only woman to secure the medal, Mary E. Walker, a Civil War surgeon. When the Medal of Honor originated in the Civil War, it was the sole authorized award in the armed forces (then just the army and the navy, including the tiny Marine Corps). The only prior American decoration, the Purple Heart Medal, created by George Washington at the time of the Revolutionary War, had long since entered a hiatus that extended to the 1930s. But with no governing criteria, the Medal of Honor was bestowed for acts that spanned a wide spectrum: some were given for feats of spectacular heroism, while, in the least worthy case, a mass award was made to a regiment just for reenlisting.