do medal of honor recipients get back pay

Shot and severely wounded, Peralta fell to the ground. Peralta and fellow Marines were searching homes in Fallujah, Iraq, when they came under withering enemy gunfire just as they entered the back room of a house. Rafael Peralta has become the poster child for that argument.

It is just as clear that in many cases, the citations for modern-day Silver Stars, Navy Crosses, Air Force Crosses and Distinguished Service Crosses describe heroic acts that, in prior wars, would have earned the combatants the nation's highest award for valor, the Medal of Honor. Whatever the reason, a Military Times analysis of Medal of Honor and service cross awards dating back to 1861 shows that today's troops are being awarded these top valor decorations at a rate that is by far the lowest since the Civil War. She also said that awards citations do not reflect the full range of reports, statements and other evidence that 'informs the military personnel who initiate and review the award recommendations.' Today's troops contend with small groups of insurgents employing asymmetric warfare tactics, rather than the organized formations of enemy forces in uniform that marked past wars. Lainez said the criteria for the Medal of Honor have not changed, but noted that contemporary warfare has. There also might be some reluctance to equate today's warriors with the storied heroes of World War II, Korea and Vietnam. But a likely explanation is a directive, issued at the outset of the war in Afghanistan, that urged field commanders to be highly discriminating in valor award nominations in order to 'preserve the integrity of the military awards program.' In fact, Cashe is just one of at least 10 troops, including four soldiers, three Marines, two airmen and a sailor, whose selfless acts on the battlefield probably would have earned them Medals of Honor in past wars, according to an exhaustive Military Times side-by-side analysis. Now, seven years after his death, a growing chorus of voices argue Cashe's heroism should have rated a Medal of Honor. 17, 2005, the Army awarded him the Silver Star for valor. And for his heroic actions that day outside Daliaya, Iraq, on Oct.

Three weeks later, with second- and third-degree burns over more than 70 percent of his body, Cashe died. The Bradley was engulfed in flames after striking a bomb buried in the road, but Cashe ignored the flames searing his flesh and the rattle of enemy gunfire and went back into the vehicle again and again, pulling out every one of his six soldiers from the wreckage. Cashe crawled out of his Bradley Fighting Vehicle. DoD stands by Medal of Honor criteria Time, effort, accuracy essential to nomination processĭrenched in fuel, his uniform burned off his body, Army Sgt.

Do medal of honor recipients get back pay