Medal of Honor portrays 11 recipients of this sacred U.S. military decoration, from the Civil War through the Vietnam War, and examines what drove them to go so far above and beyond the call of duty. Among the stories is an account of the life of the only woman ever to receive the medal; of an officer who staged a daring escape from a German POW camp in WWI; and of a soldier from the legendary WWII Japanese-American 442nd, who went on to earn the medal in the Korean War. The book tells not only of astonishing military actions but also, significantly, of the recipients' lives before and after their wartime experiences.

"Condensed from the original edition"--Cover. "Special edition for the Armed Forces. Not for sale. Distributed by the Legacy Project ..."--Cover.

Story of the Medal of Honorxvii -- Chapter 1 Dr. Mary Edwards Walker, Civil War 1 -- Chapter 2 Leopold Karpeles, Civil War 19 -- A Nation of Immigrants 41 -- Chapter 3 Edouard Victor Michel Izac, World War I 45 -- Chapter 4 Samuel Woodfill, World War I 75 -- Return to Isolationism 106 -- Chapter 5 David M. Shoup, World War II 109 -- Chapter 6 Maynard H. Smith: World War II 135 -- Chapter 7 Vernon Baker, World War II 162 -- Uneasy Peace 189 -- Chapter 8 Hiroshi "Hershey" Miyamura, Korean War 193 -- Chapter 9 William Charette, Korean War 219 -- From the Forgotten War To the Living-Room War 238 -- Chapter 10 Dwight Johnson, Vietnam War 241 -- Chapter 11 Thomas Kelley, Vietnam War 256.