Medal of Honor Living Histories

Medal of Honor Living Histories

The Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation has undertaken a broad range of initiatives aimed at increasing awareness of the Medal of Honor and what it represents and perpetuating its rich legacy of courage, sacrifice and patriotism. The “Living Histories” project is one such example. The Foundation, in partnership with Citi Smith Barney (now Morgan Stanley Smith Barney) has captured on video the stories of living Medal of Honor recipients, told in their own words, for future generations to learn from and enjoy. More than 100 recipients have been interviewed and had their stories recorded for history. These interviews have been synthesized into five to eight minute vignettes that tell the recipient’s individual story. To watch one of these stories, click here and select the story of the recipient you would like to watch. The full unedited interviews are available at the Congressional Medal of Honor Society headquarters for research and educational purposes.

These short stories are now being used in educational programs  where teachers, students and visitors will have an opportunity to gain a greater appreciation for what the Medal of Honor and the recipients who wear it represent. In addition, these stories have been loaded on Medal of Honor kiosks that have been placed at select museums across the country. For example, a representative number of these stories are included in the permanent Price of Freedom exhibit at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History and the airman-related vignettes are presently shown at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC.

Finally, uplifting composite videos with extracts from recipient interviews overlaid with title graphics, file footage and music have been produced and shown to numerous audiences and on television as a Medal of Honor outreach initiative. Click on [Play Video] on the adjacent image to watch one of these composite Medal of Honor videos with reflections from Medal recipients in their own words.