Mohaa Medals

[Jan Dominquez]

Medalsare a feature in most Medal of Honor games. Along with Leaning and Squads, it is one of the few features that is present in more than two games. These are usually rewarded for completing hidden objectives, and sometimes unlock cheats or bonuses which the player can use to their advantage.

Original game of the franchise had very simple demand: Medal was earned when player finished a three-level mission with at least two 3-star ratings, or when finishing a four-level mission with at least two 3-star ratings and at least one 2-star rating. Underground had the same criteria.

Half of the awards Manon Batiste earns are collectibles including her brother Jacques Batiste's locket, a photograph of Knossos being defaced, a captured SS ring, a piece of wreckage from a V1 and a Panzerknacker model. However, there are some medals she earns depending on how well the player does in each mission.

Although statistics are given, getting the medal is not related to the player's performance. Instead, it requires the player to complete a hidden objective (strictly one only for each chapter*) or to finish the game on a particular difficulty. In its expansion packs, medals are earned by completing chapters, and finishing the game on different difficulties.

Medals and badges are mostly earned by completing hidden objectives. Unlike in Allied Assault, there are multiple hidden objectives in one chapter. More medals/badges will be unlocked as the player finds and finishes more hidden objectives.

In addition, the war memorabilia scheme in Underground returns. To obtain a special object, the player must take the scripted opportunity well, like saving a buddy from an imminent death. If he fails, the object will be missed unless re-played or reloaded from a earlier point. A memorabilia can be reviewed in War Chest, triggering a recollection of circumstances when clicked upon.

Medal mechanism is simplified. For each level, a player can get bronze, silver, or gold rating depending on the quality of the finish. Maximum rating means completing all secondary objectives and killing the Axis VIP. At the end of a chapter (theatre), the player can be rewarded with a historical medal.

OK, I took up the challenge, and decided to write a FAQ for the board about MOH's and the law. Here's my initial draft. If anyone has any input on it, or wants to write a specific Q/A that I didn't cover, buy all means have at it. Post your input here, and I'll revise and reformat the FAQ as necessary, and pin in to the board for future reference.

The important phrase to read there is except when authorized under regulations made pursuant to law in the first paragraph. Those regulations are in the Code of Federal Regulations, specifically Title 32, Part 507. You can look it up on line yourself, but it says that anyone can buy, sell, or manufacture any medal, except for the Medal of Honor

Basically, the United States Code is the law, and the Code of Federal Regulations are the rules and regs for how the law gets applied. For example, the Clean Air Act of 1990 (42 USC 7401) was enacted to control air pollution on a national level. It was up to the EPA to write the rules about how the Clean Air Act would be implemented, and those rules are published the in the Code of Federal Regulations.

Absolutely. There is nothing in existing US law prohibiting the simple ownership of the Medal of Honor (see below for the one exception), or any other US medal for that matter. Once awarded, medals are considered personal property.

In 1996 HLI Lordship Industries plead guilty in federal court to selling 300 Medals of Honor to the collector's market. They were fined and prohibited from receiving government contracts to produce medals for 15 years. Since these medals were manufactured as part of a government contract, they are considered stolen government property. If you knowingly possess stolen property, you're breaking the law, and could be prosecuted.

18 USC 704 prohibits the importing and exporting of the medal. Bid away, but you run the risk of having federal agents at your door when the mail man arrives. [A point of clarification: I am not advocating anyone break the law. Even if a MOH is purchased overseas, it is illegal to import the medal into the US.]

What about the Soldier's medal, Navy and Marine Corps medal etc? Army, Navy commendation medals? Any input on these would be helpful. I personally think it applies to any unauthorize wearing of a medal that was not earned, however, I maybe wrong and probably am. Tom could you clearify this please sir.

I touched briefly on it in the Q/A about the Code of Federal Regulations, but I can expand on it a bit. My dilemma with the FAQ is that you can spin off almost every Q/A into it's own topic. I've tried to address specific questions regarding MOH collecting and the law, and tried to dispel certain erroneous statements that showed up earlier in this thread. And I specifically didn't dwell on the whole false statement/impostor issue, as I would hope readers of this forum are more interested in collecting, rather than what is essentially a side issue to the topic of collectibles.

Regarding the whole false statement/unauthorized wearing/impostor issue, it is illegal to state verbally or in writing, or to wear, any medal you did not earn. The penalty for false statements/wearing certain medals (MOH, DSC, NC, AFC, SS, and PH) is basically double that of any other medal.

The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians, and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor.[1][12] The medal is normally awarded by the President of the United States (the commander in chief of the armed forces) and is presented "in the name of the United States Congress." It is often, not strictly correctly, referred to as the Congressional Medal of Honor.[13][14]

There are three distinct variants of the medal: one for the Department of the Army, awarded to soldiers; one for branches of the Department of the Navy, awarded to sailors, marines, and coast guardsmen; and one for military branches of the Department of the Air Force, awarded to airmen and guardians.[1][15] The Medal of Honor was introduced for the Naval Service in 1861,[16] soon followed by the Army's version in 1862.[17] The Air Force used the Army's version until they received their own distinctive version in 1965.[18] The Medal of Honor is the oldest continuously issued combat decoration of the United States Armed Forces.[19] The President typically presents the Medal of Honor at a formal ceremony intended to represent the gratitude of the American people, with posthumous presentations made to the primary next of kin.[20][21][22]

In 1861, early in the American Civil War, a proposal for a battlefield decoration for valor was submitted to Lieutenant General Winfield Scott, the Commanding General of the United States Army, by Lieutenant Colonel Edward D. Townsend, an assistant adjutant at the Department of War and Scott's chief of staff.[25] Scott, however, was strongly against the American republic's awarding medals for valor, a European monarchical tradition.[25] After Scott retired in October 1861, however, Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles adopted the idea of a decoration to recognize and honor distinguished naval service.[25]

On December 9, 1861, Iowa Senator James W. Grimes, Chairman on the Committee on Naval Affairs,[26] introduced bill S. 82.[27][28] The bill included a provision authorizing 200 "medals of honor,"[29] "to be bestowed upon such petty officers, seamen, landsmen, and marines as shall most distinguish themselves by their gallantry in action and other seaman-like qualities during the present war...."[30] On December 21, the bill was passed and signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln. Secretary Welles directed the Philadelphia Mint to design the new military decoration.[31][32][33] On May 15, 1862, the United States Department of the Navy ordered 175 medals ($1.85 each) from the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia with "Personal Valor" inscribed on the back of each one.[34]

On February 15, 1862, Senator Henry Wilson, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Military Affairs and the Militia, introduced a resolution (equivalent to a bill) for a Medal of Honor for the Army.[35] The resolution (equivalent to a modern Act of Congress) was approved by Congress and signed into law on July 12, 1862.[35] This measure provided for awarding a medal of honor "to such non-commissioned officers and privates as shall most distinguish themselves by their gallantry in action and other soldier-like qualities during the present insurrection."[35] By mid-November the Department of War contracted with Philadelphia silversmith William Wilson and Son, who had been responsible for the Navy's design, to prepare 2,000 medals for the Army ($2.00 each) to be struck at the mint.[36] The Army's version had "The Congress to" written on the back of the medal. Both versions were made of copper and coated with bronze, which "gave them a reddish tint."[37][38]

On March 3, 1863, Congress made the Army Medal of Honor a permanent decoration by passing legislation permitting the award to such soldiers "as have most distinguished or who may hereafter most distinguish themselves in action."[39] The same legislation also authorized the medal for officers of the Army.[40] On March 25, the Secretary of War presented the first Medals of Honor to six U.S. Army volunteers in his office.[41]

In 1896, the ribbon of the Army's version of the Medal of Honor was redesigned with all stripes being vertical.[42] Again, in 1904 the planchet of the Army's version of the Medal of Honor was redesigned by General George Lewis Gillespie.[42] The purpose of the redesign was to help distinguish the Medal of Honor from other medals,[43] particularly the membership insignia issued by the Grand Army of the Republic.[44]

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