Seven educators have been honored by the Congressional Medal of Honor Society since 2008: Jencie Fagan, Dawn Hochsprung, Mary Sherlach, Rachel DAvino, Lauren Rousseau, Anne Marie Murphy and Victoria Soto. The Society, comprising the living recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor, determined in 2008 to institute a civilian award. They were moved by the examples they saw in civilian life of exceptional individual courage and sacrifice in the service of the Nation. They felt that these men and women should be better recognized and appreciated. They wanted us all to hear the stories of these heroes amongst us who never sought fame or glory, but who have never failed to come forward when they are most needed. The Society has awarded these Honors with great discernment and reserve since 2008. In the normal course of events they limit the award to no more than three each year. A sense of what it means to receive this Honor was movingly put by the first recipient, Jencie Fagan of Pine Middle School, and I commend to you the short video linked below. It is clear that this is a profound and significant Honor, and the Medal of Honor Societys conduct in relation to it has been dignified and extremely professional. It is certain that in all of history there has never been a group of men better qualified to recognize what is meant by individual courage and sacrifice. There has been one oddity though. The Society has taken a while to come to grips with a name for this Honor. Perhaps a group of poets, or politicians, might have crafted something less awkward than their first choice, the Above & Beyond Citizen Honor. But we can imagine that these were men who believed in substance much more than style, and the Honor was given and received with deep respect and pride. The name of the honor was subsequently changed to the Citizen Service Before Self Honor. It was this Honor that was awarded posthumously to the six women of Sandy Hook Elementary School. The Society took the unprecedented step of breaking with its limit of three awards that year. Would that this need never have arisen. And now this year, the Society has recast the title of the Honor as, very simply, the Citizen Honor. In the end, it seems to me, they recognized that in the presence of extraordinary heroism there is no need have a title that tries to explain at any length what it is about. Ultimately, the meaning of the Honor comes not in its title, but from the deeds and character of those who receive it, and of those who give it on behalf of us all. In the words of the Society, Despite the slight name change to better reflect the award’s intentions, the prestige, selection criteria and process, and support by the Congressional Medal of Honor Society remain unaltered. The change in name of the Honor has had the effect of altering some of the websites that were associated with it, however. Unfortunately there is no automatic redirect from the old website to the new. The NEW location for information about the Citizen Honor is within the website of the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation which draws together the Society and its activities in the community, including the Citizen Honor. The link to the new website is below, and from there it is possible to submit a nomination. cmohfoundation.org/citizen-honors/
Posted on: Sat, 26 Oct 2013 02:13:40 +0000
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