The Congressional Medal of Honor is America’s highest and most solemn military award.  First given by the Navy in 1861, the Army followed in 1862.  Now, the Air & Space Forces and the Coast Guard have their own medal. The medals are of slightly different design, but all signify valor and bravery at the highest level.

Criteria for awarding the honor has evolved through the years.  Over 3,500 Medals of Honor have been awarded: forty percent of those during the Civil War.  In 1917, over 900 medals were stricken from recipients.  Some famous names who were awarded the medal include Sgt. Alvin York (Army), Buffalo Bill Cody, and the only President to win one, Teddy Roosevelt.

Ft. Johnson, “The Home of Heroes”, is named after a Medal of Honor recipient from World War I, Pvt. William Henry Johnson, although his medal was not awarded till 2015, decades after his death.   Ft. Johnson is the only Army post named after an enlisted soldier, a point of pride for all enlisted soldiers who pass through here.

The post will recognize this extraordinary honor with a number of events.  A ceremony will be held Monday, March 18, at Palmetto Terrace Housing on post.  During a walking town hall, Major General David Gardner, Commanding General of Ft. Johnson/Joint Readiness Training Center, will unveil new street signs on streets named for Medal of Honor recipients.  Corvias Military Housing is responsible for putting the Medal of Honor logos on the new street signs.  They will be the only street signs on any Army installation to bear that logo.  Ft. Johnson currently has ten streets in three of its housing areas named after recipients.

Medal of Honor Day is Monday, March 25.  Ft. Johnson will host a full range of activities for all ages designed to make Army families more aware of the medal’s history.  AAFES will set  up static displays on the 29 Medal of Honor winners from Louisiana.  There will be a Medal of Honor display and book reading at the post library on March 22.  The Guardian e-paper will also run feature stories, and post personnel will visit local radio stations for interviews during the month.

The nearest Medal of Honor winner to us locally is First Lt. Douglas B. Fournet, from the Vietnam era.  His aptly marked grave is in a field outside of Oberlin, Louisiana.  For more information about the Congressional Medal of Honor, try reading The Making of a Hero by Linda Moss Mines.

Thanks to Mark Leslie, Director of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security on Ft. Johnson,  CSM (Ret) Chris Ausbun, and their volunteers for their help in this story and planning the activities on post.