By the end of the Civil War, the Federal Armed Forces had lost approximately 365,000 people, more than twice the total casualties during the four-year "War between America". With such widespread violence plagued this divided country, the heroism and bravery of combatants have become more and more common. However, the same violent incident attracted the attention of the navy team at the beginning of the war. Are there enough people willing to enlist in the army to lay down their lives for the country?

Before the United States existed, there had been various awards for outstanding performance in official business. On August 7, 1782, General George Washington announced the creation of the Medal of Military Merit. This is a piece of cloth in the shape of a purple heart (yes, it will eventually become a purple heart) to show "not only unusual bravery in battle" Examples, but also with extraordinary fidelity and basic services provided in any way."

By the outbreak of the US-Mexico War in 1846, Congress had established the Certificate of Merit, which was once again initially assigned only to non-commissioned officers and soldiers with outstanding service. Although the Meritorious Medal was finally established in 1905, the original award was nothing more than a paper certificate, granting its winners the honor of increasing wages and gaining recognition​​. At the same time, foreign countries such as Prussia, Britain, and France established actual medals as early as 1740 to recognize their outstanding soldiers and introduced the Prussian Medal of Honor. By the time the war broke out in the United States, there was still no medal to reward soldiers who showed extreme bravery during their service.

With this in mind, coupled with concerns about filling the ranks of the United States. On December 9, 1861, Iowa Senator James W. Grimes, Chairman of the Naval Affairs Committee, and Iowa Senator James W. Grimes introduced a bill during the second session of the 37th Congress. This bill called "Act to Further Increase Naval Efficiency" authorizes the Secretary of the Navy to award 200 Medals of Honor to "Noncomers, Seamen, Marines, and Marines, [they] for their bravery in action and current Other similar qualities as a seaman in the war.” Similar to George Washington’s Medal of Military Merit, this new award only applies to conscripts. However, the language in this particular bill stipulates that the medal can only be awarded during the fighting and civil war. Although President Abraham Lincoln quickly signed the Grimes Act into law, it was superseded less than a year later, when on July 12, 1862, the official policy was re-enacted, including performance in their profession Applicants for "extraordinary heroism". Increase the chance of soldiers earning medals for their heroic actions outside of combat. Men at this level have also been promoted, breaking the routine of promotion, and $100 (currently about $2,500).

During the transition period between these two operations, Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles turned to Williams Wilson & Son in Philadelphia and RTG Winkler of the American Mint in Philadelphia to design and print a new medal. The medal is in the form of an inverted five-pointed star. The center is the Roman goddess of war and wisdom, Minerva, towering above disorder, representing a retreating male image with his fist entangled by a snake. Minerva's right hand is a shield with the Great Seal of the United States lightly printed on it, and her left hand is a bunch of wooden sticks with an axe on it, a symbol of the power of the Ancient Roman Republic.

According to the Naval History and Heritage Command, “Minerva is the fable of America’s defeat of the Confederacy.” The back of each medal is engraved with the words "Personal Courage", followed by the name of the winner, the rank, and the valor of the medal. The action and the date of the action. It is not clear who received the first Navy Medal of Honor; however, it is generally believed that the 41 sailors awarded by Secretary of War Edwin Stanton on April 3, 1863 were the first to be awarded. A few months later, on July 10, 1863, Jack F. Mackie and Pinkerton R. Vaughn became the first Marines to receive this honor. Douglas Albert Munro was awarded the Medal of Honor for his performance in the Battle of Guadalcanal in 1942, which made him the only person to date for his performance in the U.S. Coast Guard A person who received the award for serving in the military.

Due to the First World War and its immediate consequences, the Navy Medal of Honor has undergone tremendous changes. In March 1915, officers of the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard were declared eligible by Congress, and the Navy chose to split their medals of honor in two: the traditional version mentioned above, and a new medal called the "Tiffany Cross." . "Under this new method, the original medal was reserved for those who showed bravery outside of combat, while the Tiffany Cross was awarded to those who showed bravery in conflict. The new medal is based on its designer Tiffany The company’s name is named after a golden cross pattern placed on a wreath of oak and laurel trees. Each arm of the cross has an antique anchor. The center of the cross is an octagon with the words "US Navy" on the top, and the center It is the Great Seal of the United States, and the bottom is "1917-1918". The medal is fixed on the light blue Medal of Honor ribbon, decorated with 13 white stars, and there is a gold bar on the top with "VALOUR" written on it.

The Tiffany Cross was authorized in the same bill that established the Naval Cross and the Naval Distinguished Service Medal, and can be traced back to actions that took place after the United States formally joined the First World War in April 1917. Throughout its life cycle, the Tiffany Cross was awarded to only 28 sailors and marines. In August 1942, the Tiffany Cross was retired by Congress, and the original design of the Navy Medal of Honor in 1862 became the only honor for extreme bravery in combat. With the retirement of the Tiffany Cross, the Navy decided not to award the Medal of Honor for actions outside of combat.

According to data from the Congressional Medal of Honor Association, the U.S. Armed Forces has awarded 3,507 medals of honor to soldiers (and a woman, Dr. Mary Edwards Walker). 19 people have been awarded the Medal of Honor twice, and 66 Medal of Honor recipients are still alive.

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