WASHINGTON, Feb. 21 (UPI) -- President Obama will award the Medal of Honor to 24 war veterans, 19 of whom were previously overlooked because of their background, the White House said.
The presentation March 18 will culminate a Pentagon review Congress ordered into past discrimination in the ranks, the Washington Post reported Friday.
"These veterans will receive the Medal of Honor in recognition of their valor during major combat operations in World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War," the White House said in a release. "Each of these soldiers' bravery was previously recognized by award of the Distinguished Service Cross, the nation's second-highest military award; that award will be upgraded to the Medal of Honor in recognition of their gallantry, intrepidity and heroism above and beyond the call of duty."
Of the two dozen soldiers who will receive the award, five identified themselves on military personnel forms as "Caucasian," the Post said. Military officials said their ethnicity or religious affiliation is uncertain, but their battlefield actions were found to deserve the highest honor.
Three of the recipients are alive.
In 2002, Congress called for a review of Jewish American and Hispanic American veteran war records from WWII, the Korean War and the Vietnam War, to ensure those deserving the Medal of Honor were not denied because of bias against them, the White House said. During the review, records of several soldiers who weren't Jewish or Hispanic also were found have been worthy of the Medal of Honor but had not been recognized. The 2002 act was amended to allow these soldiers to be honored with the upgrade.
Collectively, the award ceremony will be the largest number of Medal of Honor recipients since World War II, when more than two dozen service members were honored as the conflict wound down, the Post said.
"We're very proud of these soldiers," said Lt. Col. Alayne Conway, an Army representative. "This represents a new generation respecting the sacrifices made by previous ones."
