The Medal of Honor is the most prestigious military award given to members of the Armed Forces. The medal is awarded by the United States President to military members who have demonstrated military valor. While there are over 3,500 recipients, only 92 are Black Medal of Honor recipients. Suggested read:Korean War Dates: Three Years of Battle, a Lifetime of Recovery

List of Black Medal of Honor Recipients

How many Black Medal of Honor recipients are there? There are currently 92 who have received the award. Here’s the list of the Black Medal of Honor recipients that deserve recognition.

1. Sergeant William H. Carney
2. Private William H. Barnes

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1. First Sergeant Powhatan Beaty
2. First Sergeant James H. Bronson
3. Sergeant Major Christian A. Fleetwood
4. Private James Gardner
5. Sergeant James H. Harris
6. Sergeant Alfred B. Hilton
7. Sergeant Major Milton M. Holland
8. Corporal Miles James
9. Corporal Andrew Jackson Smith
10. First Sergeant Alexander Kelly
11. First Sergeant Robert Pinn
12. First Sergeant Edward Ratcliff
13. Private Charles Veale
14. Sergeant Major Thomas Hawkins
15. Sergeant Decatur Dorsey
16. Private Bruce Anderson
17. Sergeant Major Milton Murray Holland
18. Robert Blake
19. John Lawson
20. James Mifflin
21. Joachim Pease
22. Aaron Anderson
23. William H. Brown
24. Wilson Brown
25. Thomas English
26. Seaman: John Davis
27. Seaman: Alphonse Girandy
28. Seaman: John Johnson
29. Seaman: John Smith
30. Seaman: Robert Augustus Sweeney
31. Cooper: William Johnson
32. Ship’s Cook First Class: Daniel Atkins
33. Seaman: Joseph Noil
34. Sergeant Emanuel Stance
35. Corporal Clinton Greaves
36. Sergeant George Jordan
37. Sergeant Thomas Boyne
38. Sergeant John Denny
39. Sergeant Henry Johnson
40. First Sergeant Moses Williams
41. Private Augustus Walley
42. Corporal William O. Wilson
43. Sergeant Benjamin Brown
44. Private Pompey Factor
45. Private Adam Paine
46. Private William Thompkins
47. Trumpeter Isaac Payne
48. Sergeant John Ward
49. Sergeant (First Lieutenant) William McBryar
50. Corporal Isaiah Mays
51. Sergeant Thomas Shaw
52. Sergeant Brent Woods
53. Edward L. Baker, Sergeant Major
54. George H. Wanton
55. William H. Tompkins
56. Dennis Bell
57. Fitz Lee
58. Robert Penn
59. Corporal Freddie Stowers
60. 1st LT. Vernon J. Baker, Company C – 370th Infantry Regiment, 92nd Division
61. Staff Sergeant Edward A. Carter, Jr., U.S. Army 56th Armored Infantry, 12 Armored Division, (No. 1 Provisional)
62. 1st LT. John R. Fox, Cannon Company, 366th Infantry, 92nd Division
63. PFC Willy F. James, Jr., U.S. Army Company G, 413th Infantry Regiment, 104th Division
64. Staff Sgt. Ruben Rivers, U.S. Army Company A, 761st Tank Battalion, 3rd Army
65. 1st Lt. Charles L. Thomas, U.S. Army Company C, 614st Tank Destroyer Battalion, 103rd Division
66. Pvt. George Watson, U.S. Army, Birmingham, Alabama, 29th Quartermaster Regiment
67. PFC William Thompson
68. Sergeant Cornelius H. Charlton
69. PFC Milton L. Olive III
70. Private First Class Garfield M. Langhorn
71. Platoon Sergeant Matthew Leonard
72. Sergeant Donald Russell Long
73. Captain Riley Leroy Pitts
74. Lieutenant Colonel Charles Calvin Rogers
75. First Lieutenant Ruppert L. Sargent
76. Specialist Fifth Class Clarence Eugene Sasser
77. Staff Sergeant Clifford C. Sims
78. Staff Sergeant Melvin Morris
79. Gunnery Sergeant John Canley
80. First Lieutenant John E. Warren, Jr.
81. Sergeant First Class William Maud Bryant
82. PFC James Anderson, Jr.
83. PFC Oscar P. Austin
84. Sergeant Rodney M. Davis
85. PFC Robert H. Jenkins Jr.
86. Specialist Sixth Class Lawrence Joel
87. PFC Ralph H. Johnson
88. Specialist Five Dwight Hal Johnson
89. Sergeant First Class Webster Anderson
90. Sergeant First Class Eugene Ashley, Jr.

You can explore the story of Vietnam Vet and Medal of Honor recipient Melvin Morris below.

Notable African American Heroes in History

While the list above does commemorate African Americans in the military who have shown great strength, there are some who stand out. Robert Blake was the first Black Medal of Honor recipient in 1864. During the American Civil War, he was a slave who performed tasks that led to the enemies leaving their positions. While Blake was the first Black recipient, William Carney was the first Black person to actually perform an action for which he received the Medal of Honor, though he was given the award later. During the Civil War, Carney did not let the flag touch the ground, even when he was injured and in severe pain. Before 1997, no Black military men from World War II had received the award, and a study in 1993 discovered discrimination against Black people that prevented them from being recognized. President Clinton awarded the first group of black Veterans from World War II. Vernon Baker, Edward A. Carter Jr., John R. Fox, Willy F. James Jr., Ruben Rivers, Charles L. Thomas, and George Watson all received the medal. Six of the members had passed, and Vernon Baker was the only living recipient. Robert Augustus Sweeney is the only Black recipient to have received the medal twice. The first medal was awarded because he saved a shipmate from drowning, and the second medal was awarded because he rescued another member who fell overboard from a vessel.

Challenges for African Americans With the Medal of Honor

Racism barring the awarding of the Medal of Honor to Black heroes was especially present in the past. In the first forty years that the Medal of Honor was being awarded, the ratio of nominations of Black people to White people was not equal. When Black people did receive awards, they were usually delayed, such as Carney’s, as he did not receive his medal until 1900. Racism became even more prominent with the award in World War I due to the Jim Crow laws that were present in the military. Because of this, there were no Black people from World War I and World War II that received the medal until 1997. From 1941 to 1945, the Navy failed to nominate Black Sailors for the Medal of Honor.

Recognizing Valor and Heroism

Today, Captain Paris Davis is another Black man that is close to being awarded for a heroic act on the battlefield. During the Vietnam War, he ignored an order to leave the field and instead chose to save lives in a firefight. Davis’s nomination for the award will hopefully add him to the list of Black Medal of Honor recipients. However, there are no Black female Medal of Honor recipients. We can only hope that Black female military members can be recognized for their continued acts of courage on the battlefield and one day be awarded for their bravery and strength with the Medal of Honor. Read next:All-Black Female 6888th Central Postal Battalion To Be Recognized

Image: Robert Blake (Wiki Commons), William Carney (U.S. Army), Paris Davis (Michael A. McCoy for The New York Times)