Other than the Medal of Honor, the various branches of service have not attempted to compile or make available the names and citations of ALL of even our most highly decorated military veterans. Perhaps no where is this problem better illustrated than in a November 29, 1994, memorandum from U.S. Army Air Defense Artillery Research Historian Patricia M. Rhodes to Major Wasson following a request from the commander who "asked for numbers and for feasibility of getting names, citations, and photos" of all ADA recipients of the Medal of Honor, Distinguished Service Cross, and Silver Star. She noted:

While this OFFICIAL ARMY MEMORANDUM from an OFFICIAL ARMY HISTORIAN is stunning in its content, it is also a tragic but true accusation regarding the keeping of the records of our military heroes. It is a double-tragedy in that, not only are REAL heroes "lost to history," but the very lack of such a listing of the REAL heroes has allows the PHONY ones to proliferate--and they do.

Here at HomeOfHeroes.com I have invested more than a decade and tens of thousands of hours doing what the various branches of service SHOULD be doing...identifying the REAL heroes and searching for the citations that chronicle their heroism and all too often, their great personal sacrifice. When I was encouraged by our web visitors to branch beyond the Medal of Honor and start compiling the names and citations of the Distinguished Service Cross (DSC), Navy Cross (NX), and Air Force Cross (AFC), I believe this would be virtually impossible to complete. I'm a former Army Engineer however, and our motto is "ESSAYONS," we will try. I with the help of many, including some wonderful historians who have preceded me, I have tried.

While compiling the DSC/NX/AFC awards, I was further frequently requested to do likewise for awards of the Silver Star. While I never believed identifying all the DSC/NX/AFC recipients was possible, I was certain that the Silver Stars were beyond ever making even minor progress on. My experiences with the DSC/NX/AFCs however, built my confidence and in January 2007 I expanded to try and compile all Silver Star Awards. (We now have nearly 90,000 of an estimated 130,000 Silver Star recipients identified.)

As I continue, I have further expanded this year to begin adding the Distinguished Service Medals (Defense, Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard). I have also begun work on the Soldier's Medal, Navy/Marine Corps Medal, and Airman's Medal; these three awards often considered a "non-combat medal of honor."

From the links below you will find an alphabetical index of 120,000 recipients of these highest U.S. Military awards. The top two levels are estimated to be at least 99.9% complete; the others are a work in progress. While this index can be helpful in exposing those who falsely claim awards they never earned, please realize that other than the top two levels of awards, the remaining indexes range from only 70% to 90% complete. Absence of a name for a Distinguished Service Medal, Silver Star, or other award does NOT mean someone did NOT receive it, only that we have not yet verified that award.

More importantly than exposing phonies however, I hope these pages will help family members, combat comrades, and friends of men and women who have served with valor and distinction, identify REAL heroes in their midst. The real heroes are usually humble and rarely talk about what they have done, or what medals they have earned. That is why these pages are so important, for they preserve for future generations, the identities and deeds of America's most deserving heroes.

Doug Sterner
HOH Webmaster

Alphabetical Index of Recipients

A - B - Be - Bo - Br - C - Ch - Co - D - Di - E - F - Fo - G - Go H - He - Ho - I - J - K - Kl - L - Li - M - Mc - Me - Mo - N - O P - Ph - Q - R - Ro - S - Se - Sk - St - T - U - V - W - Wi - X - Y - Z

Honor Roll of America's Most Decorated Military Heroes

How to obtain a Missing Citation or ADD information to this Database