This Memorial Day, The Texan honors the memories of the 20 Texan World War II Medal of Honor recipients who sacrificed their lives for the welfare of their fellow countrymen. The name "Silver Star" originated in World War I because of the 3/6" silver star that is displayed in the center of the medal. The Silver Star Medal remained exclusively an Army decoration until August 7, 1942, nearly a year after World War II began. On that date, the Silver Star Medal was expanded by an Act of Congress for award by the Navy 82nd (Airborne) Division Medal of Honor Recipients. [ show] The 6 awards of the Medal of Honor to soldiers serving in the now 82nd Airborne resulted from actions in three different wars; World War I, World War II, and the Vietnam War. The names and ranks of the recipients are as follows; Emory J Pike (Lieutenant Colonel) 6.2.1 Medal of Honor recipients. 7 Unit citations. 8 See also. 9 Notes. 10 References. 11 Bibliography. 12 Further reading. United States Army in World War II: The War in the Pacific. United States Army Center of Military History This page was last edited on 11 November 2023, at 15:54 (UTC). Text There are 67 living Medal of Honor recipients, as of May 2021. The most medals were awarded for actions during the Civil War, when 1,523 were awarded, followed by 472 in World War II. Since it was instituted there have been 3,473 recipients; at least 17 American Jews have received the Medal of Honor [n 1] for their actions starting in the American Civil War through the Vietnam War. The first recipient of the medal was Benjamin B. Levy of the 1st New York Volunteer infantry for his service at the Battle of Glendale on June 30 YR7hMVL.

how many medal of honor recipients in ww2