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Prior to World War II, the Medal of Honor could be awarded for actions not involving direct combat with the enemy; 193 men earned the medal in this way. Most of the peacetime medals were awarded to members of the United States Navy for their actions during boiler explosions, man-overboard incidents, and other hazards of naval service.
Contents
Given in the list below are the place and date of each recipient's Medal of Honor action, as well as their rank at the time of the action. A posthumous award is denoted by an asterisk after the recipient's name.
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor was created during the American Civil War and is the highest military decoration presented by the United States government to a member of its armed forces. The recipient must have distinguished themselves at the risk of their own life above and beyond the call of duty in action against an enemy of the United States. Due to the nature of this medal, it is commonly presented posthumously. A Medal of Honor during peacetime has not been presented since 1939.
List of recipients
This with the * indicates that the Medal of Honor was awarded posthumously
Note: Notes in quotations are derived or are copied from the official Medal of Honor citation