Table of Contents

• Preface
• Introduction
• Part One: Legal and Policy History
• 1. From the Revolution through the Civil War: Background and Inception
• 2. Filling the Army's Policy Vacuum: 1876-1897
• 3. The Spanish-American War, Veracruz, and Navy Officers: 1898-1915
• 4. The Purge of 1917: The army Rewrites Its Award History
• 5. World War I: The Birth of the Pyramid of Honor
• 6. The Interwar Period: A Bifurcated Medal of Honor and New Decorations
• 7. World War II: Growing Pains and the End of Noncombat Awards
• 8. The Korean and Vietnam Wars: New Combat Thresholds
• 9. Post-Vietnam: Modern Concern over the Decline in Award Frequency
• Part Two: Exceptions to the Rule: Legislative Administrative, and Judicial Relief
• 10. Early bills of Relief and Extralegislative Awards
• 11. Modern Bills of Relief: 10 U.S.C. §1130
• 12. Administrative Remedies Boards for Correction
• 13. Administrative Restorations: Mary Walker and William Cody
• 14. Judicial Remedies: The Administrative Procedure Act
• 15. Correction of Discrimination or Impropriety
• Conclusions
• Appendix: Summary of Medal of Honor Legislation (Excluding Bills of Relief)
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index

About the Author

Dwight S. Mears holds a PhD from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, taught history at the US Military Academy from 2010—2014, and retired from the US Army as a major in 2014. He recently received his law degree from Lewis & Clark Law School.

Reviews

Impressively documented with primary source material, this book is a significant addition to the historiography of the Medal of Honor and how and to whom it has been awarded. The author helps the reader understand how the award nomination and selection process has changed over time and why some acts are recognized as worthy and why some others are not. Highly recommended."" - James H. Willbanks, author of Abandoning Vietnam: How America Left and South Vietnam Lost Its War

""Dwight Mears’s strength is objectivity combined with solid scholarship. His treatment of the Medal of Honor involves not only stirring events but the often blatantly political process, affording military students a rare look at America’s most prestigious decoration."" - Barrett Tillman, author of Enterprise: America’s Fightingest Ship and the Men Who Helped Win World War II