Medal of Honor

President Harry S. Truman (standing, center) poses with some of the twenty-eight recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor who were decorated at a ceremony in the East Room of the White House. The men were honored for bravery during World War II. A motion picture camera is in view in the background by the door. All others are unidentified.

Marine Colonel Justice M. Chambers of Rockville, Maryland, holds his seven month old twins, Peter and Paul, while President Harry S. Truman (left) is shaking hands with one of the youngsters. President Truman has just awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor to Col. Chambers for gallantry at Iwo Jima, Volcano Islands, February 19-22, 1945, during World War II. On the right is Mrs. Chambers and behind her is General Clifton B. Cates, Commandant of the Marine Corps. All others are unidentified.

Military officials and dignitaries are seated in the East Room of the White House for a Congressional Medal of Honor presentation ceremony. A portrait of First Lady Martha Washington is visible on the wall behind the men. George Marshall, United States Army Chief of Staff, is seated third from the right on the first row. General Omar Bradley is seated on the far right on the second row. Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal is seated front row, left. and Under Secretary of War Robert Patterson is seated in the front row, second from left. All others are unidentified.

President Harry S. Truman is shown presenting the Congressional Medal of Honor to U.S. Army Sergeant John D. Hawk, Bremerton, Washington. The award ceremony took place during Truman's visit to Washington state. Sergeant Hawk was given this award for bravery in France, August 20, 1944. The award ceremony took place at the state capitol in Olympia, Washington. Washington Governor Monrad C. Wallgren is slightly visible on the far right. Others in view are unidentified.

President Harry S. Truman shakes the hand of a Congressional Medal of Honor recipient shown in a wheelchair, right center. Other recipients and guests can be seen looking on during the ceremony in the East Room of the White House. Numerous photographers are present directly behind the president. Press Secretary Charles Ross is standing by the candelabra next to the door in the background. First Lieutenant Cecil H. Bolton is seated second from left, front row.

President Harry S. Truman (left at podium) presents First Lieutenant Henry A. Commiskey, Hattiesburg, Mississippi, (right) of the United States Marine Corps with the Medal of Honor for heroism in Korea, September 20, 1950, at a White House Rose Garden ceremony. Commiskey's daughter Cassandra is standing to his right. Some of the others present standing behind include in first row: Admiral Robert L. Dennison, Naval Aide to President Truman; Mrs. Henry A. Commiskey (wife) holding son Henry A., Jr., and General Clifton B. Cates, Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps.

President Harry S. Truman (foreground, left) presents the Congressional Medal of Honor to Mildred D. Dean of Berkeley, California. She received it for her husband, Major General William F. Dean, commander of the 24th Infantry Division who was listed as missing in action. Major General Dean was the first Medal of Honor recipient of the Korean War. Also present in the background are Admiral Robert Dennison (left) and General Robert Landry (right) U.S. Air Force Aide to President Truman. General Dean had been captured by the North Koreans and was later released after the war.

First Lieutenant Henry A. Commiskey, U.S. Marine Corps, Hattiesburg, Mississippi, is shown with his family after receiving the Congressional Medal of Honor from President Harry S. Truman at a ceremony held at the White House lawn. The family includes daughter Cassandra being held by her father, and Mrs. Henry A. Commiskey holding son Henry A., Jr. The award was presented for bravery in Korea, September 20, 1950.

President Harry S. Truman is shown shaking hands with Lieutenant (JG) Thomas J. Hudner, Fall River, Massachusetts, who has just received the Congressional Medal of Honor at a White House ceremony. Lt. Hudner, a Navy pilot, crash landed his fighter behind enemy lines in Korea in a vain effort to save the Navy's first African American aviator, Ensign Jesse Leroy Brown. Mrs. Daisy Pearl Brown, Hattiesburg, Mississippi, widow of Ensign Brown is on the left. In the background is Mrs. Thomas Hudner, mother of Lt. Hudner. Others are unidentified.

President Truman is shown presenting the Congressional Medal of Honor to Korean War soldier Master Sergeant Ernest R. Kouma, of Dwight, Nebraska, at a ceremony in the Oval Office at the White House.