# "Congressional" Medal of Honor **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 23, 2006, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congressional-medal-of-honor/373886 "2006-09-23T21:36:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2006, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congressional-medal-of-honor/373886/1 "2006-09-23T21:36:35Z")
Up until about ten years ago, I always heard the top U.S. military medal thus described, as it is awarded by the President in the name of Congress. Then I noticed some members of the military rather stiffly saying that it was “correctly” referred to as just the “Medal of Honor” (so said the Denzel Washington character in the Gulf War I movie “Courage Under Fire,” for one). Has the name of the medal actually changed? Does the military (or some members thereof) simply not like the association with Congress, which isn’t exactly a highly-respected body nowadays? Or is something else going on? ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2006, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congressional-medal-of-honor/373886/2 "2006-09-23T21:57:28Z")
It would seem either is correct per the following: > [@](#): > > The Medal of Honor is the highest award for valor in action against an enemy force which can be bestowed upon an individual serving in the Armed Services of the United States. Generally presented to its recipient by the President of the United States of America in the name of Congress, it is often called the Congressional Medal of Honor. > > SOURCE: [http://www.cmohs.org/medal.htm](http://www.cmohs.org/medal.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2006, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congressional-medal-of-honor/373886/3 "2006-09-23T22:00:39Z")
Reading around just a bit more I am gathering that it is properly called the _Medal of Honor_. However, since it is awarded by the President in the name of Congress it seems no one makes much of a fuss about it being called the Congressional Medal of Honor since technically it is Congress awarding the medal. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2006, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congressional-medal-of-honor/373886/4 "2006-09-23T22:11:53Z")
Exactly – the official styling of the decoration is was just “Medal of Honor”, the “congressional” bit was just popular usage. A military man who’s a stickler for proper forms would avoid using the common qualifier “congressional” because it is not official. AND there is the fact that you want to differentiate it from another entirely different award of later creation, officially styled the “Congressional Gold Medal of Honor”. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2006, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congressional-medal-of-honor/373886/5 "2006-09-23T22:14:54Z")
Correction: distinguish it from an entirely different award of _ **EARLIER** _ creation, the “Congressional Gold Medal of Honor”. ---
**Author:** ![Common\_Tater](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/common_tater/32/13846_2.png) [@Common\_Tater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Common_Tater)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2006, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congressional-medal-of-honor/373886/6 "2006-09-23T23:43:03Z")
It’s just a needless affection to affix the “congressional” bit. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2006, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congressional-medal-of-honor/373886/7 "2006-09-24T11:12:40Z")
It adds a bit of puffery to the title to add that word. Like having a \*Blue Ribbon \* Panel of Judges instead of just a couple of judges. Such an important award seems to create a need in some people to lengthen the title to make it seem even more special in an official kind of way. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2006, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congressional-medal-of-honor/373886/8 "2006-09-24T14:05:09Z")
[Congressional Gold Medal of Honor](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congressional_Gold_Medal) [Medal of Honor](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medal_of_Honor) How interesting, I didn’t know “intrepidity” was a real word. > [@](#): > > The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States. It is often referred to as the Congressional Medal of Honor because the President presents the award “in the name of the Congress”.[3] It is bestowed on a member of the United States armed forces who distinguishes himself or herself “… 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 …” ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2006, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congressional-medal-of-honor/373886/9 "2006-09-24T18:46:34Z")
[QUOTE=Common Tater] It’s just a needless affection to affix the “congressional” bit. [/QUOTE] Not necessarily. The term “medal of honour” is pretty generic, and if spoken without sufficient context (particularly to non-Americans) will probably prompt the question, “Which medal of honour?” I wouldn’t be surprised if half the countries in the world had a military or civil award referred to as a medal of honour, or with the words “medal of honour” somewhere in the name. The moniker “Congressional” goes some way towards disambiguating the source and nature of the award: there are only a handful of countries which have a Congress, the most well-known of which is the United States. ---
**Author:** ![Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carnac_the_Magnificent)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2006, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congressional-medal-of-honor/373886/10 "2006-09-24T19:34:41Z")
[QUOTE=psychonaut] Not necessarily. The term “medal of honour” is pretty generic, and if spoken without sufficient context (particularly to non-Americans) will probably prompt the question, “Which medal of honour?” I wouldn’t be surprised if half the countries in the world had a military or civil award referred to as a medal of honour, or with the words “medal of honour” somewhere in the name. The moniker “Congressional” goes some way towards disambiguating the source and nature of the award: there are only a handful of countries which have a Congress, the most well-known of which is the United States. [/QUOTE] Actually, spelling it correctly–“Medal of Honor” versus your “Medal of Honour”–goes very much further in “disambirguating the sources and nature of the award.” 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carnac_the_Magnificent)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2006, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congressional-medal-of-honor/373886/11 "2006-09-24T19:36:26Z")
“Disambirguating” (sic) is actually the proper U.S. spelling, of course. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2006, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congressional-medal-of-honor/373886/12 "2006-09-25T01:39:40Z")
Also, when no qualifier is offered, it is understood that one is referring to decorations awarded by the nation in whose military the person serves. Foreign awards are qualified by their origin. In the case of the USA, as mentioned, adding “Congressional” actually has the potential to create greater confusion.