If a soldier, sailor, Marine, or airman is the recipient of the Medal of Honor, he or she will be saluted by any military member regardless of rank. When a colonel passes a sergeant, who was awarded the Medal of Honor (MOH), the colonel will salute the sergeant.

The MOH has been awarded to 3,496 men and one woman since Abraham Lincoln signed the bill creating the award on Dec. 21, 1861. The official description of the award says "It is reserved for those who are distinguished "conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while engaged in an action against an enemy of the United States."

The citation for each award gives the details of the actions of the recipient and is the official description of those actions. MOH citations can be on the web site at history.army.mil/moh/worldwari.html. If you read a few of these citations you may be shocked at the courage displayed by the recipients of the MOH. These people are true heroes who have given their all to protect their comrades during combat actions. The military researches and verifies the claimed actions of the potential recipients, and the recommendations for the award go up the chain of command with each commander agreeing with the award.

Jack Dragoni attended Boston College and served in the U.S. Army in Berlin and Vietnam. He lives in Chaffee, Missouri.