i was wondering what makes some one eligable for the medal of

You have to be really liked by some big brass, basically.

>>34952041
it has to be witnessed by at least 2 individuals. must be a circumstance that is considered against all hope and and action that is considered ultimately selfless. typically an individual of senior or equal rank must request the individual to be rewarded the medal. above all though, it has to be approved by congress after an investigation that could take months or years.

most of the time, people that have been requested a medal of honor review get their actions bumped down to a silver star.

The official award count isn't accurate because they were given out like candy during the Civil War. I read they have once gave out in bulk to some people who re-enlisted.

It's arbitrarily awarded and sometimes for political reasons. Patterson's book on the Medal of Honor states for every one person who receives the medal there are one hundred that don't who deserved it.

>>34952041
The gave them to the soldiers guarding Abraham Lincoln's casket. They didn't give one to Carlos Hathcock for anything he did.
I hope this lets you know something.

>>34952681
Cool as he was, he didn't really go above and beyond desu.

>>34953477
I'd at least think the mission where he crawled all that way and shot a General in the chest from over 700 yards would count.

>>34952681

Most medals were thrown out a lot more regularly long ago in history, when universally recognised requirements and context were much less certain.

>>34952041
Beyond what Wikipedia will say about it, you really need to be lucky. Being in a situation you probably shouldn't have been in, enough people surviving who could talk about it while being debriefed, the chain of command all liking each other enough to keep passing this info along. Any break in the chain will stop this. I did 21 years in the army, and was only actually knew one person who got it.

>>34953502
And pulling marines from a burning APC while suffering 3rd degree burns is pretty based

>he did get a silver star for that one

File: 1200px-Richard_Bong_photo_portrait_head_and_shoulders.jpg (222KB, 1200x1458px) Image search: [Google]

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major bong is decidedly unimpressed at your behavior

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Eddie Rickenbacker is laughing at your lack of valor.

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this fucking manlet is 1000x more of a man than you will ever be in your wettest of dreams