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Photo # 80-G-K-12122: U.S. Navy Medal of Honor, photographed during the 1940s or early 1950s

Online Library of Selected Images:
-- AWARDS & MEDALS --
U.S. INDIVIDUAL AWARDS & MEDALS --

The Medal of Honor --
The Navy Medal of Honor, 1942 to the Present

The Medal of Honor is the highest-ranking United States' combat award, with different patterns used by the Navy, the Army and the Air Force. Authorized in December 1861 as an award for enlisted men, the Navy Medal of Honor originally served to "further promote the efficiency of the Navy". Its award criteria subsequently included "deeds of gallantry and heroism in times of War and of Peace" on the part of officers and enlisted personnel, but in 1942 were restricted to acts of extraordinary heroism in armed combat. The design of the medal and its associated ribbon have also varied, with the pattern presently used having been adopted in 1942.

This page features photographs of the current pattern of the Navy Medal of Honor, and provides links to images of other forms of the Medal and of recipients of the Medal.

For more information on the Medal of Honor, including lists of all Navy and Marine Corps recipients, see:

  • "Frequently Asked Questions: The Navy's Medal of Honor"

    For additional images related to the Medal of Honor, see:

  • Navy Medals of Honor, 1861-1941;
  • Medals of Honor of the Other U.S. Armed Services;
  • Medal of Honor -- Miscellaneous Images;
  • Medal of Honor Recipients, Alphabetical Listing; and/or
  • Medal of Honor Recipients, Chronological Listing.


    If you want higher resolution reproductions than the Online Library's digital images, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions."

    Click on the small photograph to prompt a larger view of the same image.

    Photo #: 80-G-K-12122 (Color)

    U.S. Navy Medal of Honor

    Photograph taken during the 1940s or early 1950s, showing the Medal of Honor, its ribbons and rosette.

    Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.

    Online Image: 111KB; 590 x 765 pixels

    Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system.

     
    Photo #: 80-G-K-13587 (Color)

    U.S. Navy Medal of Honor

    Photograph taken during World War II of the medal designed by Anthony C. Paquet during the Civil War.
    The Medal of Honor was authorized by Congress on 21 December 1861 for presentation to Navy enlisted personnel. Eligibility was extended in 1901 to any Navy man "who shall have distinguished himself in battle or displayed extraordinary heroism in the line of his profession".

    Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.

    Online Image: 93KB; 600 x 765 pixels

    Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system.

     
    Photo #: NH 86703-KN (Color)

    U.S. Navy Medal of Honor

    Medal of Honor and ribbon, photographed circa 1945.

    U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph.

    Online Image: 140KB; 600 x 765 pixels

     
    Photo #: 80-G-K-13586 (Color)

    U.S. Navy Medal of Honor

    Photograph taken during World War II, showing the Medal of Honor with its anchor suspension device clipped to the outside of the ribbon.

    Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.

    Online Image: 96KB; 590 x 765 pixels

    Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system.

     
    Photo #: 80-G-K-13426 (Color)

    U.S. Navy Medal of Honor

    Photograph taken during World War II, showing the uniform ribbon for the Medal of Honor.

    Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.

    Online Image: 64KB; 740 x 605 pixels

    Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system.

     
    Photo #: KN-10864 (Color)

    Rear Admiral Norman Scott, USN

    Oil on canvas, 28" x 26", by McClelland Barclay, USNR (1891-1943). Painting signed and dated by the artist, 1942. It includes a depiction of the Medal of Honor, which was posthumously awarded to Rear Admiral Scott for "extraordinary heroism and conspicuous intrepidity" during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, 13 November 1942.

    Painting in the U.S. Naval Academy Museum Collection. Gift of Mrs. Norman Scott, 1949.

    Official U.S. Navy Photograph.

    Online Image: 67KB; 605 x 715 pixels

    Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system as Photo # 428-KN-10864

     


    For more information on the Medal of Honor, including lists of all Navy and Marine Corps recipients, see:

  • "Frequently Asked Questions: The Navy's Medal of Honor"

    For additional images related to the Medal of Honor, see:

  • Navy Medals of Honor, 1861-1941;
  • Medals of Honor of the Other U.S. Armed Services;
  • Medal of Honor -- Miscellaneous Images;
  • Medal of Honor Recipients, Alphabetical Listing; and/or
  • Medal of Honor Recipients, Chronological Listing.


    NOTES:

  • To the best of our knowledge, the pictures referenced here are all in the Public Domain, and can therefore be freely downloaded and used for any purpose.

  • Some images linked from this page may bear obsolete credit lines citing the organization name: "Naval Historical Center". Effective 1 December 2008 the name should be cited as: "Naval History and Heritage Command".


    If you want higher resolution reproductions than the Online Library's digital images, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions."


    Return to Naval History and Heritage Command home page.

    Page made 7 July 2000
    Coding updated 22 April 2009