The Medal of Honor is the highest military award for valor authorized by Congress and is issued by the president. Earned for bravery during combat, the first medal was first struck on Dec. 21, 1861, specifically for the Navy, but was adapted for the U.S. Army several months later.
Since then, 3,547 brave men and women have received the Medal of Honor as of January 2026. Those precious medals have to come from somewhere.
Related: The Vietnam tank driver who ran into a burning tank to pull his friends out
According to the Defense Logistics Agency, or DLA, each medal is stamped out from a strip of gold weighing exactly 2.5 ounces at one of two different locations: IRA Green in Providence, Rhode Island, or Graco/Northwestern in Tomball, Texas. Graco/Northwestern is now part of Northwest Territorial Mint, which produces military challenge coins.
No Detail Is Too Small
At the manufacturing facilities, each minute detail is accounted for, down to how many fibers make up the iconic blue cloth that is wrapped around the recipient’s neck during the ceremony.
Every aspect must be perfect before it’s shipped off to its next destination for an essential, customized detail: the engraving of the recipient’s name.
Just 13 miles away from where the U.S. claimed their independence lays the DLA Troop Support building, within which craftsmen use diamond-tipped, precision tools to engrave the names of brave service members onto their respective Medals of Honor.
After the engraving, the proud company ships the medals to their next destination, which is where they’re awarded.
The Medal of Honor’s Different Designs
The making of the military highest award, the Medal of Honor
Did you know there was more than one design for the Medal of Honor?
There are actually three. Since the Medal of Honor’s inception, the Army and Navy have presented differently designed medals to these worthy recipients. Before 1965, Medal of Honor recipients from the Air Force were presented with the medal designed for the Army. For the past six decades, the Air Force has presented its own design. (Recipients from the Marine Corps and Coast Guard receive the Navy’s version of the Medal of Honor. Any Space Force recipient would be presented with the medal’s Air Force design.)
After World War I, the Navy considered a second design. The Tiffany Cross would be given to sailors whose actions occurred during armed conflict; those not involved in combat were to be presented with the original star design. Because the multiple designs created confusion, the Tiffany Cross fell out of favor, though.
Learn More About Medal of Honor Recipients
Thanks to the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, here are some interesting facts about the Medal of Honor:
Currently, 61 of the 3,528 Medal of Honor recipients all time are alive.
The Civil War is by far the military conflict involving the United States that resulted in the most Medal of Honor recipients (1,525). World War II (472), the Indian Campaigns (426), the Vietnam War (270) and non-combat actions (193) round out the top five.
Dr. Mary Edwards Walker was a surgeon, abolitionist, and prisoner of war during the Civil War. She is also the only woman to receive the Medal of Honor.
Signalman First Class Douglas Munro is the only recipient ever from the Coast Guard. Munro was honored posthumously for his actions during the Battle of Guadalcanal on September 27, 1942.
Nineteen service members have received the Medal of Honor twice, including five who received two of the precious medals for the same action.
Theodore Roosevelt and his son, Theodore Roosevelt Jr., have been bestowed Medals of Honor, as have Gen. Douglas MacArthur and his father, Arthur MacArthur Jr. Those are not the only family connections between some Medal of Honor recipients.
Medal of Honor Day
While most of us will never get an opportunity to thank a Medal of Honor recipient personally, there is a day for us to reflect on what their sacrifices have given to all of us.
Every March 25 is National Medal of Honor Day. On that day, some living recipients attend a ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. That day is also recognized with a ceremony on the USS Yorktown, which is home to the Congressional Medal of Honor headquarters at the Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina.
Medal of Honor recipients certainly deserve our thanks on that day. And every other day of the year, for that matter.
