Knights Cross VS. Congressional Medal of Honor

[RichardC]

just curious has to how many Medals of Honor were issued compared to the Knights Cross during WW2

[Daniel Cole]

From WWII:

464 Medals of Honor Awarded

287 Army
57 Navy
37 Army Air Corps
82 Marines
1 Coast Guard

Cheers,
Dan

[Tyler Ramsey]

And 7,318 people were issued the Knights cross!

[Dez H]

How about Victoria Crosses?

[RoyA]

How about Victoria Crosses?

Only 182 and 1 bar to the VC awarded in WWII.
In fact, there's only been 1354 VC's awarded since 1856.

[merdock]

Hi,
of the 3 medals the victoria cross has comanded the highest price at auction showing it's true rarity.and as a plus note to collectors is not seriously reprode as every one that comes for sale haqs a bullit proff provinence i think.
Merdock

[RoyA]

Hi Merdock,
You are absolutely correct....all VC's are very well documented.
I seem to recall the hightest price paid to date was to a Rorke's Drift recipient.
There was one sold here in Canada a few years back that went for big bucks as well....named to George Chicken (no joke). Chicken won his VC in Bengal in 1858.

[Daniel Cole]

I spoke with a Medal of Honor winner Hiroshi Miyamura a few days ago. He says, all Medals of Honor that were issued were engraved. I'm sure VC were engraved also. Too bad the KC wasn't the same way. That might really have helped sort out the repos.
Dan Cole

[merdock]

Hi,
Iwas indeed correct in the assumption about VC prices there's one for sale at auction at the moment full provinence ,'as always' guide price 80000 to 100000 pounds?
MERDOCK

[Dave Danner]

Comparisons of the Knight's Cross to the Medal of Honor, or the Victoria Cross for that matter, are highly subjective. The numbers do not tell the whole story.

The Knight's Cross was both a bravery and a merit/leadership award. Many or most of the 7% or so of general officer recipients got it for their unit's performance, not individual acts of bravery.

The Medal of Honor may only be given for valor, and a very high degree of bravery at that. Of the 464 Medals awarded in World War Two, 266, or 57.3%, were posthumous. As for the Victoria Cross, 181 were awarded in World War Two, of which 82, or 45.3%, were posthumous.

In World War One, 633 VCs were awarded, and 188 were posthumous, while the US awarded 124 Medals of Honor, of which 33 were posthumous.

The Medal of Honor has become even harder to earn. In Korea, 71.8% (94/131) were posthumous. In Vietnam, 62.9% (154/245) were. In Somalia, 100% (2/2) were. The VC has become even rarer. Four each were awarded in Korea and Vietnam, of which 2 in each conflict were posthumous. Both Falklands VCs were posthumous. The only other post-World War Two VC was to a Gurkha in Malaya who is one of 15 living recipients (as of 13 April 2003, there were 137 living Medal of Honor recipients).

Dave

[Gregory Koepp]

you can't put a price on a Medal of Honor tho, because their aginst the law to sell or own, if you are not the reciving owner. so really how could you find a real price for one?
they have been sold before and the last ones that i read about was from a military medal and gun dealer who had recived them from a friend of the president of the company that was the only comany authorized to make them in the world here in the USA. now that company lost it's contract with the US gov and can never work for them again... it the Medal of Honor is the most tracked and watched of any medal in the world, the FBI and past winners keep a very strong watch out for them, there's even a hot-line where you can report a person that has one, even if their fake it's not allowed.
the guy who just got busted was dumb and put a couple out in his display case to show, and an FBI man came up and in street get-up asked if he had anymore and the dude pulled out afew more and the FBI guy did his thing and busted him and he ratted and went down the line...
here is

A Brief History - The Medal of Honor*

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The first formal system for rewarding acts of individual gallantry by the nation's fighting men was established by General George Washington on August 7, 1782. Designed to recognize "any singularly meritorious action," the award consisted of a purple cloth heart. Records show that only three persons received the ward: Sergeant Elijah Churchill, Sergeant William Brown, and Sergeant Daniel Bissel Jr.

The Badge of Military Merit, as it was called, fell into oblivion until 1932, when General Douglas MacArthur, then Army Chief of Staff, pressed for its revival. Officially reinstituted on February 22, 1932, the now familiar Purple Heart was at first an Army award, given to those who had been wounded in World War I or who possessed a Meritorious Service Citation Certificate. In 1943, the order was amended to include personnel of the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard. Coverage was eventually extended to include all services and "any civilian national" wounded while serving with the Armed Forces.

Although the Badge of Military Merit fell into disuse after the Revolutionary War, the idea of a decoration for individual gallantry remained through the early 1800s. In 1847, after the outbreak of the Mexican-American War, a "certificate of merit" was established for any soldier who distinguished himself in action. No medal went with the honor. After the Mexican-American War, the award was discontinued, which meant there was no military award with which to recognize the nation's fighting men.

Early in the Civil War, a medal for individual valor was proposed to General-in-Chief of the Army Winfield Scott. But Scott felt medals smacked of European affectation and killed the idea.


The medal found support in the Navy, however, where it was felt recognition of courage in strife was needed. Public Resolution 82, containing a provision for a Navy medal of valor, was signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln on December 21, 1861. The medal was "to be bestowed upon such petty officers, seamen, landsmen, and Marines as shall most distinguish themselves by their gallantry and other seamanlike qualities during the present war."

Shortly after this, a resolution similar in wording was introduced on behalf of the Army. Signed into law July 12, 1862, the measure provided for awarding a medal of honor "to such noncommissioned officers and privates as shall most distinguish themselves by their gallantry in action, and other soldierlike qualities, during the present insurrection."

Although it was created for the Civil War, Congress made the Medal of Honor a permanent decoration in 1863.

Almost 3,400 men and one woman have received the award for heroic actions in the nation's battles since that time.

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and this is a great please to read about them and how to report afaker!!
http://www.mishalov.com/FBI_False_Medal_of_Honor.html

hope i diden't put to much info on here...


greg

[MH184]

As Dave correctly says you can't compare by numbers. An interesting point on the CMoH, there would have been even less of these medals issued during WW1 if there had been a gallantry medal system in the American armed Forces.

America formalised a state of hostility with the enemy central powers on the 6 April 1917. They only had four divisions of the AEF in France during late 1917 early 1918 in any stage of readiness the 1st, 2nd, the 26, and the 42nd.

It wasn't until the summer of 1918, starting with the Cantigny battle of May 28th did the Americans take any real part in the fighting as parts of the British & French, as at Belleau Wood, Chateau-Thierry and Soissons.

The U.S had no field army until August 10th, when the American First Army was formed. It's first successful attack in the St Mihiel salient. Then the 47 day campaign of Meuse-Argonne, 26 Sept-11Nov; involving over 1 million men.

The only award at that time was the CMoH, General John J Pershing needed to have some intermediate awards of gallentry and urgently requested such. In response came along the Distinguished Service Cross and medal.

I'm not saying these boy's disn't deserve a CMoH only that issued medals with names on them would be even more rare, than they already are.

You can't compare the VC and CMoH in WW1 since the years involved and time.

And please my American friends don't take it as 'you weren't in the war as long as us' or that crap. I'm just stating how rare the CMoH is and why so many were awarded in a short space of time.

Also the award criteria for such awards makes it impossible to accurately compare.

Kind regards,

Marcus

[merdock]

Hi,
The US does things better than us and treats it's Hero's and vets in general better than us,the US i belive gives certain freebies to it's CMOH winners free flights etc,in England you get nothing not even a decent pension and you have to sell your VC to make ends meet,it's about time the Government looked after it's Soldiers etc instead of giving all the money to scumbag assilum seekers/spongers.
Merdock

[MH184]

Here, here

Not only that they look after the families and widows and people in street respect their armed forces.

I share your sentiments 101% Merdock

[Mark S.]

MArcus summed it up, no army, no need for medals. The US, defensively speaking, wasnt even a contender when WW I broke out. Romania actually had a bigger army than the US did.