January 2002
The Director - Features
Safeguarding a Medal's Honor
How funeral directors can better serve families while helping to preserve the meaning behind this nation's highest award for military valor
The U.S. Medal of Honor is the nation's highest award for valor in the U.S. military, symbolizing the bravery and heroism of the U.S. veterans who receive it. Unfortunately, there are more who are credited for the award than those who actually receive it. Along with impostors that claim they received the award for their time in the service, family members sometimes mistakenly publish that a decedent was a Medal of Honor recipient in the obituary knowing that they received an award, but unaware of which one.
Impersonating a U.S. Medal of Honor recipient is not taken lightly. Such an offense can be punishable by up to one year in prison and a fine of up to $100,000. Safeguarding a Medal's Honor—What funeral directors should know when servicing the families of veterans, written by Chris Raymond, editor of The Director, explains the award's criteria, the Congressional Medal of Honor Society's role in preserving the integrity of the award and how funeral directors can prevent the award from being misrepresented. The article includes the heroic story of one Medal of Honor recipient and the case of a charlatan who claimed to be a recipient. The article also includes a list of all of the current living Medal of Honor recipients.
