Unmarked grave of Irish Medal of Honor winner is uncovered in Illinois

Sorry, got in a hurry and didn't proof read-----had THEIR medals rescinded !! PG

A little more history of the Medal of Honor. During the Purge of 1917 there were 911 Medal of Honor Medals rescinded, including 867 from the 27th Maine. Also, 4 officers and 25 NCO's who were part of Lincoln's burial detail, had there medals rescinded. That's why the Home of Heroes web site is so interesting !! PG

Brent is correct and they are called RECIPIENTS. I was honored to be able to participate in a rededication for MOH Recipient Charles Seston in New Albany, IN a few years ago. My good friend, Don Morfe, lives in Maryland and he has helped to document most of the burial sites for these recipients. Don and his "Band of Brothers" are dedicated to making sure they are all located and have the proper Medal of Honor tombstone. If you have an interest in the Medal of Honor then check out the web site "Home of Heroes" which is dedicated to the Medal of Honor. Doug Sterner and his wife, Pam, have provided us with this very historical web site and it's considered to be the "go to" site when you want to know anything about the Medal of Honor. If you've never visited the site then you'll be glad you did because there are over 25,000 pages of American History there. Be sure to look up my good friend, Sgt. Sammy Davis, Indiana's ONLY living recipient of the Medal of Honor. Hopefully, someone will invite Sammy to attend the rededication as he lives in Freedom, Indiana. A special THANKS goes to those who were dedicated to the task and were able to make this historical event possible. We need to do this so all the Medal of Honor Recipients can be honored with a proper tombstone. God Bless all our Heroes and those who serve OUR great nation today. PG

It's a small point, but one that is a point of sensitivity among veterans of the United States Armed Forces. One does not 'win' the Medal of Honor. It isn't a prize, and price of receiving one is many times everything one has to give. One receives it, and holders of the Medal of Honor are referred to as 'recipients'. If you would amend this post to reflect the correct usage, veterans everywhere would greatly appreciate it.

Congrats to James O'Shea on article and those who made the discoveries on McHugh.Most interesting.As a hobby in retirement I run a small website at www.69thPa.co.uk primarily about soldiers of the 69thPa (Philadelphia) Regiment many of whose soldiers were from counties Derry, Tyrone and Donegal.The 69thPa also had its own M.O.H. soldier Capt Charles McAnally from Co. Tyrone. The name McHugh most certainly flags up a Donegal connection.Is there a marker on McHughs grave if so does anyone have an image off that they would like to share with me?.Keep up the good work.

Lovely article, but PLEASE, it wasn't a famine. It was genocide, open and intentional. It was the Great Hunger, but only the potato crop failed. The grains and cattle were healthy and sold to finance the party-hearty lives of the british landowners. Please, editor, start advising folks who submit articles for publication that "the famine" will be changed to reflect what it was. We don't have to call it genocide every time it's mentioned, but don't call it a famine. Even Wikipedia, at least in English, calls it the Great Hunger. Why can't you?

True to form, they tended to serve so gallantly for nigh everyone other than for their own land. The few heros who did, gave respectability to the rest of their fellows in the homeland, despite being despised by them.

True to form, they tended to serve so gallantly for nigh everyone other than for their own land. The few heros who did, gave respectability to the rest of their fellows in the homeland, despite being despised by them.

A simply wonderful story.

Well done

I love this story!

Good that his grave was found, but the Medal of Honor has not always been awarded for combat gallantry. The pallbearers of Lincoln's casket were all awarded the MOH and at about the turn of the 19th C in peacetime the MOH was commonly awarded to sailors for rescuing drowning comrades. The standards for award now have become so high that it is usually awarded posthumously to those who have died committing acts of gallantry.