African American World War Two Medal of Honor Recipients In the early 1990s, the Department of Defense started to study the issue of why no African Americans were awarded the Medal of Honor during World War II. It was determined that Black soldiers had been denied consideration for the Medal of Honor in World War II because of their race.Everett P. Pope. Major Everett Parker Pope (July 16, 1919 – July 16, 2009) was a United States Marine who received the Medal of Honor for his conspicuous gallantry on Peleliu in September 1944 while leading his men in an assault on a strategic hill, and for holding it, with rocks and bare fists when ammunition ran low, against Japanese Williams was the last surviving World War II recipient of the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest award for valor. The son of dairy farmers from Quiet Dell, West Virginia, Williams received the The Silver Star is the third highest U.S. combat-only award. Established in 1918 as the Citation Star, in 1932 a provision allowed servicemen to receive it retroactively. It has been awarded for actions as far back as the Spanish-American War. The complete list of Silver Star recipients in the Vietnam War, WW2, and other U.S. conflicts.
For actions during World War II, 472 United States military personnel received the Medal of Honor. Seventeen of these were Japanese-Americans fighting in both Europe and the Pacific, many of which were upgraded from Distinguished Service Crosses during the Clinton administration.
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