The Medal of Honor Grove at the Freedoms Foundation in Valley Forge is a living memorial to those who have sacrificed to keep America free.
Adjacent to the Valley Forge National Historic Park in Pennsylvania, nestled in the wooded hills above the Schuylkill River, is a unique, little known living memorial dedicated to the men an women who have sacrificed and, often times, given their life in service to America. The Medal of Honor Grove, conceived in 1942 and located on the grounds of the Freedoms foundation at Valley Forge, is a 52-acre woodland memorial commemorating all those awarded our nation's highest award for valor in action against an enemy force which can be bestowed upon an individual, the Medal of Honor.
Each of the 50 states and Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia are represented by a one-acre plot highlighted by a seven foot-seven inch high fiberglass replica of the Washington Monument obelisk. Attached to the obelisk is a state seal, dedication plaque and a list of Medal of Honor recipients accredited to that state. For purposes of attribution, a recipient is normally considered to be a member of the state where he or she entered the service. More than 700 recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor were foreign-born.
Within the state area, a small 4x6 inch tree marker is placed beside a planting for each recipient whenever practical (the state of New York has the most Medal of Honor recipients with 619). Each marker lists the name, rank, unit, date and place of action of the recipient. To date, 25 states have replaced the standard white fiberglass obelisk with a distinctive granite or marble obelisk in their areas, all using stone native to their state.
An attractive serpentine path snakes through the memorial, winding up and around hilltops in the hardwood grove. All 52 acres were dedicated during formal ceremonies attended by either the state's Governor, lieutenant Governor or United States Senator.
The origins of America's highest award are grounded in a Congressional action in 1847 that authorized the President to present a "certificate of merit" when a private soldier distinguished himself in the service. Perhaps more important than the certificate was an increase in pay of $2 a month.
On December 9, 1861 Iowa Senator James W. Grimes introduced a bill designed to "promote the efficiency of the Navy" by authorizing the production and distribution of "medals of honor." The bill passed two weeks later with an authorization of 200 medals; President Abraham Lincoln signed the bill and the Navy Medal of Honor was born. Two months later a similar bill was introduced to authorize "the President to distribute medals to privates in the Army of the United States who shall distinguish themselves in battle." President Lincoln signed the bill into law on July 14, 1862 and the Army Medal of Honor was born. To this day the Army and Navy (now referred to as "Sea Services" embracing the Marines and Coast Guard as well) have separate designs for the Medal of Honor. Later, when the Air Force was created, they developed a design of their own as well.
From these humble beginnings in an obscure Congressional act in the midst of the Civil War grew an award of prominence held in regard like few others. The first Medals of Honor were awarded in 1863 and some actually went to civilians. On April 12, 1862 civilian spy James J. Andrews and 19 volunteers began their Ã'Great Locomotive ChaseÃ" behind enemy lines in Georgia in an attempt to cripple rail power in the Confederacy. The daring escapade failed and seven of AndrewÕs Raiders were hanged as spies in Atlanta on June 18, 1862. Four of the Raiders would eventually be awarded Medals of Honor as the first to die for their country in their moment of heroism and on March 25, 1863 Secretary of War Edwin Stanton presented the first Medals of Honor to six of the surviving members of Andrews' Raiders. They were the first Medals ever presented.
The first heroic act for which the Medal of Honor would be awarded actually took place two months before the Civil War on February 13, 1861 when Army Assistant Surgeon Bernard J.D. Irwin rescued 60 soldiers of the 2d Lieutenant George BascomÕs unit at Apache Pass, Arizona. The Medal of Honor would not actually be presented to Irwin until 1894.
One of the first acts of heroism in the Civil War recognized with the Medal of Honor was attributed to another civilian in the first Battle of Bull Run on July 21, 1861. Dr. Mary E. Walker, a 29-year old assistant surgeon from Oswego, New York, distinguished herself in the care of soldiers on the unexpectedly ferocious battlefield that day. Dr. Walker went on to care for the wounded on two more battlefields and during a four-month stint in a Southern prisoner of war camp. Dr. Mary Walker remains the only woman to be awarded the Medal of Honor.
Today, the Medal of Honor Grove and archives located in the Henry Knox Building at the Freedoms Foundation are a living monument to honor and teach about these 3,427 American heroes. The Medal of Honor Grove can be reached from Valley Forge National Historic Park by continuing west on Route 23.
