I strongly suggest that you provide just a paragraph of text of Kaplan’s article, then link to the Atlantic Web site—rather than copy the whole text and expose yourself to legal liability for copyright infringement.

I would agree that the Medal of Honor has evolved into the military equivalent of sainthood, but that is not necessarily a good thing. I noted years ago that Hollywood seemed obsessed with the MOH. Via movies like Karate Kid, Heartbreak Ridge, Rambo, and Dances with Wolves, the message went out that only one medal for valor counts, and that is the “Big Bluie”. Nothing could be further from the truth.

First of all, no awards system is perfect. Recognition of heroism requires witnesses to the action, a chain of command willing to document and forward the recommendation, and a reviewing authority very far from the action willing to sit in judgment and make an award based upon considerations which can be tangential to the action that actually took place.

Second of all, rank, position, and peer and superior expectations all enter into the equation of who gets recognized. The best example of these factors can be found in the career of Douglas MacArthur during his five months of combat duty in the First World War, where he primarily served as the Chief of Staff of the 32nd (Rainbow) Infantry Division. In this case you had a physically impressive officer, the son of a General Officer father and Civil War Medal of Honor recipient and a mother who cowed the Army into allowing her to reside on the USMA grounds at West Point to supervise her sons studies, who subsequently graduated at the head of his class, well connected into the highest echelons of the Army, and as a staff officer had been one of the architects of structuring the U.S. Army for modern warfare. Considering these factors, his obviously grand ego, and his position as division chief of staff, and the number of decorations he received for valor should not surprise, though it would be for manning a tunnel in Corregidor that he would finally receive his highest honor. He may have actually earned such awards, but I would be willing to bet that among the 32nd Infantry Divisions regiments there were Privates, Corporals, Sergeants, and Lieutenants who performed greater acts of heroism,yet never received similar recognition.

In short, the greatest recognition any soldier can receive for valor or performance under fire is the gratitude, respect, and admiration of those who were there with him (or her) when the action took place. And in that light, an Enlisted Man’s Army Commendation Medal with “V” Device, Bronze Star Medal with “V” Device, Silver Star, or Distinguished Service Cross, can actually have required a higher standard of heroism and sustained performance under fire than a MOH awarded some Regimental commander’s pet former USMA football star captain.

As a footnote, during the Vietnam War the Australian Army was on a strict awards quota system. Only so many men could be recommended for awards, regardless of the degree of heroism or intensity of the action displayed. In one instance, a young captain serving with a U.S. Army Special Forces “MIKE” Force was thrown into a particularly hard fight related to the MAC-V-SOG launch site of Kham Duc. As a result of the fighting, he was recommended for Australian equivalent of the U.S. Silver Star (I’ll say the Military Cross, but memory fails here). When the recommendation and all supporting affadavits reached Australian Army HQ, the award was refused. The reason for the refusal had nothing to do with any judgment of the recommendation on its merits, but because the Brigadier refused to make the award to a brother of another officer (serving with the Aussie Task Force) who had received that same award for a totally different action. Perhaps the Brigadier’s reasoning was that no more than one family should receive such an award, given the quota system in place. In any event, the captain in question received a “mention in despatches”, the equivalent of a U.S. Army Commendation Medal. That notwithstanding, among his Warrant Officers, among his peers, and among the troops who served under him, he engendered a respect bordering on awe.

“The Paul Ray Smith story elicited 96 media mentions for the eight week period after the medal was awarded, compared with 4,677 for the supposed abuse of the Koran at Guantánamo Bay and 5,159 for the disgraced Abu Ghraib prison guard Lynndie England, over a much longer time frame that went on for many months. In a society that obsesses over reality-TV shows, gangster and war movies, and NFL quarterbacks, an authentic hero like Sergeant Smith flickers momentarily before the public consciousness.”

Sadly true.

“The Paul Ray Smith story elicited 96 media mentions for the eight week period after the medal was awarded, compared with 4,677 for the supposed abuse of the Koran at Guantánamo Bay and 5,159 for the disgraced Abu Ghraib prison guard Lynndie England, over a much longer time frame that went on for many months. In a society that obsesses over reality-TV shows, gangster and war movies, and NFL quarterbacks, an authentic hero like Sergeant Smith flickers momentarily before the public consciousness.”

Makes me very sad.

Or 14 times if you include the separate VC for New Zealand (awarded once for actions in Afghanistan).

This is a great article, thanks for the heads-up.