Abstract
The study of ‘phaleristics’ (medals and honours) has a long and chequered past. The literature surrounding these awards has often been biographical in focus – outlining the brave deeds of a select group of medallists – or, alternatively, sweeping surveys listing the characteristics of specific honours systems. There has, however, been an encouraging recent shift, internationally, towards rooting the study of medals much more within government policymaking and within the cultural and political history of wider society. Dwight S. Mears’ The Medal of Honor contributes significantly to elements, although not all aspects, of this growing historiographical trend.
Mears establishes from the outset that he intends his study to be ‘the first exhaustive account of the legislative and policy history of the Medal of Honor’ (p. 5) and, in this regard, he succeeds admirably. The key strength of this book lies in the author’s very extensive knowledge of policymaking and judicial rulings surrounding the medal, which no doubt reflect his own background interests in legal matters and redress of veterans’ grievances surrounding awards. Moreover, his research is firmly grounded in an impressive and diverse array of archival sources.
This focus on administrative and judicial history underlines a range of crucial, yet often neglected, issues surrounding the medal and, subsequently, about attitudes towards honours more generally within US policymaking. Most evident is how, following decades of American suspicion surrounding decorations as ‘too European in character’ (p. 9), the eventual introduction of the Medal of Honor during the Civil War led to such diversity of opinion among policymakers about the purpose of the award. Indeed, this considerable diversity of opinion – from those who wanted the medal to recognize only the highest ‘gallantry’ in the face of the enemy to those who distributed it to commemorate more modest ‘service’ of various standards – was only gradually reconciled and policy standardized across the subsequent century concluding with Vietnam. This revelation leads to what is clearly the central thesis of Mears’ study, that, because of the often-ambiguous place of decorations within American culture, US policymakers have eternally striven to define and redefine the boundaries and standards of heroic recognition. This has resulted in the present-day situation whereby standards are so high that the Medal of Honour is almost unobtainable except in the most extreme heroic circumstances. As Mears notes, ‘the evolution of the Medal of Honor has always been driven by a desire to narrow eligibility rather than expand it’ (p. 211).
The above observation points to another core strength of Mears’ study, its historical breadth. While the vast majority of medal historians tend to focus on pre-1945 events – concentrating on what they perceive to be the key period of policy transition during the nineteenth century and total wars – Mears also concentrates on how post-war political, social, and military developments have profoundly affected the medal. These include the onset of more low-intensity conflicts involving the use of drones and issues surrounding the redress of racial and gender discrimination within the recommendation process. Addressing these developments allows the author to predict much more effectively the direction of US medals policy into the future and the potential ways in which awards could adapt to maintain their relevancy in decades of profound change.
However, the weight of attention paid to judicial and administrative aspects of the Medal of Honour also point to the weaknesses of Mears’ study. The first section of the book focuses on the general historical evolution of the medal, while the second considers ‘Exceptions to the Rules’ (p. 135), primarily through judicial rulings. While these later chapters are interesting, their relevance in exploring the long-term evolution of the Medal of Honour can be sometimes minor and, consequently, they can disrupt the flow of analysis. Moreover, the focus on policymaking is often dealt with in a vacuum, with very little attention paid to commentary of the award within the media and other outlets of American popular culture. Indeed, media commentary during crucial events such as the Vietnam War is briefly referred to, but it is rarely elaborated upon. Hence, the significance of unfolding policy developments upon the US public remains largely unclear. It could be argued that medals policy often results from an interaction between State and society. Mears’ analysis, while understandably distinguishing itself through a focus on policymaking, requires more of a balance with cultural forces rising from the societal level.
Ultimately, Mears’ book constitutes a major advancement in academic understandings of the Medal of Honour and the US awards system more generally. However, in significantly contributing to one expanding area of phaleristics – policymaking – he neglects the other growing field in this historiography, the social and cultural history of medals. Nevertheless, it is an interesting read and, in terms of an administrative history, is unlikely to be surpassed in the near future.