Medal of Honor Celebration coming to Knoxville

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) - The Medal of Honor is the nation’s highest military award. Created by Abraham Lincoln in 1861, it is given to members of the United States armed forces who have gone above and beyond their call to service.

This year, Knoxville was selected to host the Medal of Honor Celebration, a variety of events designed to commemorate Medal of Honor recipients. Members of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society will gather for an annual meeting while hosting outreach programs to inspire the Knoxville community.

WVLT News spoke to Medal of Honor historian Ed Hooper about the history of the award. The Medal of Honor can only be presented to servicemembers who act outside of their original orders, he said. This means that a servicemember can only earn the distinction when acting outside of given orders. Servicemembers can also receive the honor more than once. So far, 19 people have received the distinction twice, Hooper said.

This year, the Congressional Medal of Honor Society will honor three people with awards.

WVLT, the CW and MyVLT will feature on-air Medal of Honor Moments throughout the week.

You can find out more about the Congressional Medal of Honor Society here, and you can learn more about Knoxville’s 2022 Medal of Honor Celebration here.

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