Medal of Honor: Badge of distinction

"I thought I was going to get killed when I started to advance because when you fight battles like that you don't expect to live."

These are the words of Medal of Honor recipient Santiago Erevia, 68, of San Antonio, Texas. An Associated Press article in the Coeur d'Alene Press relates that Army Sergeant Erevia's unit came under fire near Tam Ky, South Vietnam, on May 21, 1969. The radio telephone operator crawled "from one wounded soldier to the next ... using two M-16 rifles and several grenades to single-handedly destroy four enemy bunkers and their occupants."

He is cited for courage during the search and clear mission. His belated award is the result of a mandated review of minorities, and is one of 24 veterans who served in world War II, Korea and Vietnam to receive the MOH in a March 18 ceremony. Of Latino descent, Sgt. Erevia is one of three recipients that are still alive, and is one of several that were passed over because of long held prejudices. President Clinton awarded seven Medals of Honor to World War II minority vets on Jan. 13, 1997, six posthumously, and the last to our own U.S. Army Infantry Officer Vernon Baker of St. Maries, who died on July 13, 2010. He was African American.

3,468 Medals of Honor have been awarded since 1863 when Congress made the Medal of Honor a permanent decoration. George Washington issued a field order on Aug. 7, 1782, for a Badge of Military Merit, which is the forerunner of the Medal of Honor. The Navy's Medal of Valor was signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln on Dec. 21, 1861. Congress signed into law on July 12, 1862, a resolution introduced by chairman of the Senate Committee on Military Affairs, Henry Wilson, for an Army Medal of Honor.

Public Law 88-77, July 25, 1963, standardized the requirements for the Medal of Honor among all the services, requiring that a recipient had "distinguished himself conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty." The MOH is awarded by the president in the name of Congress to U.S. military personnel only. The MOH is sometimes errantly referred to as the "Congressional Medal of Honor." In 1990, Congress designated March 25 annually as National Medal of Honor Day.

There are three versions of the MOH, Army, Navy and Air Force. Marines and Coast Guard are eligible to receive the Navy version. Awards for "extraordinary heroism" are next in order of precedence: Army's Legion of Merit, Navy Cross, Air Force Cross and Coast Guard Cross. The Silver Star is next, and is awarded for "gallantry in action." Awarded for heroism or meritorious service in a combat zone is the Bronze Star, fourth highest for combat operations.

Those of you who have seen the elephant know the fortitude and dedication it takes to accomplish the mission. The words in our national anthem "home of the brave" epitomizes the actions of combat. Though most people know the words and cheer at ball games, only those in combat demonstrate the true meaning. Are we brave in combat? Or are we compelled to stay there and do the job because our buddies are with us. Seems that bravery overcomes the terror of war. When a mortar round strikes near you, or you hear the whizzing of machine gun bullets passing by, some kicking up dirt at your position, or the IED that got you that morning, all make you realize the fragility of life, and hope the next one is not for you. If it is, you can count on your buddies to come and get you, as you would place your own life in harm's way to help them. This is the criteria for valorous awards.

Those who earn the MOH say they are not brave, but part of a team that holds their battle buddies in highest regard, and will do what is necessary to help. If you ask a person with a valorous award what happened, they will always say it was just part of the job and that they are nothing special. We do like to hear the stories if we can pry it out of them. The words of Santiago Erevia ring true here: "I thought I was going to get killed when I started to advance because when you fight battles like that you don't expect to live." A true example of heroism at its finest.

Jack Evensizer is a resident of Dalton Gardens and recipient of the Bronze Star in the U.S. Army Infantry.