Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 230, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 1 October 1918 — American Medal of Honor Is the Hardest to Gain; The Most Rarely Awarded [ARTICLE]

American Medal of Honor Is the Hardest to Gain; The Most Rarely Awarded

Naval and military men of America claim that their medal of hbnor, the equivalent to Britain’s Victoria Cross, is the hardest to gain, the most rarely awarded, and therefore the most precious and least known of all such decorations throughout the world. When a man is entitled to wear an inconspicuous bronzy star pendant from a blue ribbon on which are 13 white stars, it is certain that be has performed a deed of almost superhuman fearlessness. The Medal of Honor is a fivepointed star with a medallion in the center bearing the head of Minerva and around it “United States of America” in relief. On each ray of the star is an oak leaf, and the points themselves are trefoil-shaped. A laurel wreath in green enamel encircles the whole, and this wreath is surmounted by the word “Valor,” which in turn is surmounted by an eagle that attaches the decoration to its ribbon. The holder of this decoration, if an army man, wears, when in service uniform, a button or badge, six-sided, and made of blue silk with* 13 white stars. If in the navy the decoration is represented by a small red, white and blue bow knot