three service members received the medal of honor during the war in iraq.
three service members received the medal of honor during the war in iraq.
how many service members received the medal of honor during the war in iraq?
three
the iraq war, operation iraqi freedom ("us"), operation telic ("uk") or the occupation of iraq, was a conflict which began on march 20, 2003 with the united states-led invasion of iraq by a multinational coalition composed of u.s. and u.k. troops supported by smaller contingents from australia, poland, and other nations. six service members have received the medal of honor for actions in iraq; four from the army, one from the marine corps and one from the navy. paul r. smith was the first to receive it for his actions on april 4, 2003 when he held enemy forces back, allowing other wounded soldiers to be evacuated to safety. the other five, staff sergeant david bellavia, staff sergeant travis atkins, corporal jason dunham of the marine corps, specialist ross a. mcginnis of the army and master-at-arms second class michael a. monsoor of the navy received it after being killed while using their own bodies to smother grenades to protect their comrades.
list of medal of honor recipients
bucher's petition eventually resulted in the navy's supporting an amendment to the pow medal statute to allow eligibility for service members taken captive during situations other than armed conflict. congressman robert lagomarsino, author of the original pow medal legislation, also agreed with bucher. he said in an affidavit that the pueblo crew were denied the medal due to a "technicality," and claimed that "it was never my intent to preclude the crew members of the u.s.s. pueblo from eligibility for this medal." others, including the military hostages held during the us embassy hostage crisis in tehran, iran (from 1979–1981) likewise objected to their ineligibility. responding to may 1989 congressional inquiry on behalf of the iran hostages, deputy assistant secretary of defense david j. berteau noted that "many service members have been held as hostages, detainees or internees who do not meet the criteria for award of the pow medal."
prisoner of war medal