The Medal of Honor is America's highest award for combat valor. Its stature is so high that President Harry S. Truman, a WWI veteran with a deep understanding of the horrors of combat and the need for extraordinary heroism to overcome them, once told a gathering of WWII recipients: "I'd rather have this medal than be president". General George S. Patton, an outstanding combat soldier who also had a clear grasp of combat bravery, told one recipient as he placed the coveted medal around the hero's neck: "I'd give my immortal soul for that medal". Only an act of the most conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity, far above and beyond the call of duty, in the presence of an armed enemy merits the Medal of Honor. The deed must involve a clear risk of life. It must be that type of voluntary act which, if the hero did not do it, would not subject him to undue criticism. In addition, at least two eyewitnesses must attest to the deed. By adhering to these strict criteria the armed forces have reserved the Medal of Honor soley for the "bravest of the brave". Of the 13 million men who served our country during WWII, only 433 received the Medal of Honor. In other words, only 1 in every 30,000 servicemen received our nation's highest decoration for combat valor. Only 190 of those brave men survived to receive their medals. John Squires was one of the 243 recipients who died in the service of his country. He was the first Kentuckian to receive the medal during WWII. At the time the medal was awarded, at 18 years of age, he was the youngest Army man to receive it. He was the only serviceman from Louisville and Jefferson County to receive the Medal during WWII. Here is a complete list of all the Medal of Honor recipients from Kentucky.

Medal of Honor

Civil War 1861-1865 Army Captain William P. Black Army Private John C. Callahan Army Sergeant John S. Darrough Army Private John Davis Army Drummer William H. Horsfall Army Private Aaron Hudson Army Private Henry B. Mattingly Army Sergeant Francis M. McMillen Navy Landsman Daniel Noble Army Private Oliver P. Rood Army Sergeant Andrew J. Smith Army Private William Steinmetz Army Doctor Mary E. Walker Army Major John F. Weston Army Colonel James A. Williamson Indian Campaigns 1870-1891 Army Second Lieutenant Thomas Cruse Army First Sergeant William L. Day Army Corporal John J. Givens Army Private William M. Harris Army Captain John B. Kerr Army Private Franklin M. McDonald Army Private George D. Scott Army Sergeant Thomas Shaw Army Private Thomas W. Stivers Army Private Thomas Sullivan Army Saddler Otto E. Voit Army Sergeant Brent Woods Actions in Peacetime 1871-1910 Navy Seaman Edward W. Boers Navy Watertender Edward A. Clary Navy Quarter Gunner George Holt Wars of American Expansion 1897-1902 Army Colonel J. Franklin Bell Army First Lieutenant Benjamin F. Hardaway Army Private James J. Nash World War I 1917-1919 Army Sergeant Willie Sandlin World War II 1941-1945 Marine Corps Corporal Richard E. Bush Army Technical Sergeant Morris E. Crain Marine Corps Private First Class Leonard F. Mason Marine Corps Reserve Private First Class Wesley Phelps Army Private Wilburn K. Ross Marine Corps Private First Class Luther Skaggs Jr. Army Staff Sergeant Junior J. Spurrier Army Sergeant John C. Squires Korean War 1950-1953 Marine Corps Captain William E. Barber Marine Corps Private First Class William B. Baugh Army Corporal John W. Collier Army First Lieutenant Carl H. Dodd Army Second Lieutenant Darwin K. Kyle Army Private First Class David M. Smith Army Private First Class Ernest E. West Vietnam War 1961-1975 Army Sergeant Charles C. Fleek Army Staff Sergeant Don Jenkins Army Private First Class Billy L. Lauffer Army Sergeant First Class Gary L. Littrell Marine Corps Second Lieutenant John J. McGinty III Army Private First Class David P. Nash Marine Corps Lance Corporal Joe C. Paul

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