| Six Hundred SixtyEighth in the Famous People (FP) Series - Mary Edwards Walker |
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Mary Edwards Walker (November 26, 1832 – February 21, 1919) was an American feminist, abolitionist, prohibitionist, alleged spy, prisoner of war and surgeon. She is also the only woman ever to receive the Medal of Honor.
After the Civil War, Walker was recommended for the Medal of Honor by Generals William Tecumseh Sherman and George Henry Thomas. On November 11, 1865, President Andrew Johnson signed a bill to present her the medal, specifically for her services at the First Battle of Bull Run (Manassas).
In 1917, the U.S. Congress, created a pension act for Medal of Honor recipients and in doing so created separate Army and Navy Medal of Honor Rolls. Only the Army decided to review eligibility for inclusion on the Army Medal of Honor Roll. The 1917 Medal of Honor Board never rescinded any medals in 1917 but instead deleted 911 names from the Army Medal of Honor Roll including that of Dr. Mary Edwards Walker and William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody. None of the 911 recipients were ordered to return their medals although on the question of whether the recipients could continue to wear their medals the Judge Advocate General advised the Medal of Honor Board that there was no obligation on the Army to police the matter. Walker continued to wear her medal until her death.
President Jimmy Carter restored her medal posthumously in 1977. Cody and four other civilian scouts who rendered distinguished service action and who were considered by the board to have fully earned their medals had theirs restored in 1989.
Since Vietnam, only one living person has been awarded the Medal of Honor. In September 2010 Staff Sergeant Salvatore Giunta was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions during a fierce firefight October 25, 2007, in Afghanistan's Korengal Valley.
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