Why have Iraq and Afghanistan produced only 5 Medal of Honor recipients

Death before this honor

Why have Iraq and Afghanistan produced only 5 Medal of Honor recipients, none living?
By Brendan McGarry - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Mar 30, 2009 5:51:05 EDT

The number of Medal of Honor recipients from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan can be counted on one hand.

Each of the five acted spontaneously and heroically to save the lives of comrades. Each exemplified the medal’s criteria of “gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of one’s own life above and beyond the call of duty.”

And each was killed in action or died from wounds received in action.

From World War I through Vietnam, the rate of Medal of Honor recipients per 100,000 service members stayed between 2.3 (Korea) and 2.9 (World War II). But since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, only five Medals of Honor have been awarded, a rate of 0.1 per 100,000 — one in a million.

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Death before this honor