List of Asian American Medal of Honor recipients

This is a list of Asian Americans or those with Asian descent who have been awarded the United States military's highest decoration: the Medal of Honor.

To date, at least 32 individuals of Asian descent have received the Medal.

Medal of Honor

The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government and is bestowed on a member of the United States armed forces who distinguishes himself "…conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while engaged in an action against an enemy of the United States…" Due to the nature of this medal, it is commonly presented posthumously. [http://www.defenselink.mil/faq/pis/med_of_honor.html Defense link Medal of Honor history] ]

Philippine-American War and Peacetime

The Philippine-American War [This conflict is also known as the 'Philippine Insurrection'. This name was historically the most commonly used in the U.S., but Filipinos and some American historians refer to these hostilities as the "Philippine-American War", and, in 1999, the U.S. Library of Congress reclassified its references to use this term.] was an armed military conflict between the United States of America and the First Philippine Republic, fought between 1899 to at least 1902, which arose from a Filipino political struggle against U.S. occupation of the Philippines.

While the conflict was officially declared over on July 4, 1902, [Citation |last=Delmendo |first=Sharon |last2= |first2= |publication-date=2004
title=The Star-Entangled Banner: One Hundred Years of America in the Philippines |publication-place= |publisher=Rutgers University Press |isbn=0813534119 |page=47 |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=N6nkB_PDdXcC&pg=PA15&dq=Philippine+People+power+revolution&sig=H4SxP6yWi9qoAGv0drxC2zjETUQ#PPA48,M1 |accessdate=2007-12-03.] cite book | author= Agoncillo, Teodoro| title= History of the Filipino People| year= 1960 (Eighth edition 1990)| id=ISBN 971-1024-15-2] cite book | author= Constantino, Renato| title= The Philippines: A Past Revisited| year= 1975| id=ISBN 971-8958-00-2] American troops continued hostilities against remnants of the Philippine Army and other resistance groups until 1913, and some historians consider these unofficial extensions part of the war.

Vietnam War

The Vietnam War, also known as the Second Indochina War, and in Vietnam as the American War, occurred from 1959 to April 30, 1975. The term Vietnam Conflict is often used to refer to events which took place between 1959 and April 30, 1975. The war was fought between the Communist-supported Democratic Republic of Vietnam and the United States supported Republic of Vietnam. It concluded with the defeat and failure of the United States foreign policy in Vietnam. [The landmark series Vietnam: A Television History, first broadcast in 1983, is a special presentation of the award-winning PBS history series, American Experience.] [cite web|publisher=Encyclopedia Britannica|title=Vietnam War|quote=Meanwhile, the United States, its military demoralized and its civilian electorate deeply divided, began a process of coming to terms with defeat in its longest and most controversial war|url=http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9075317/Vietnam-War|accessdate=2008-03-05] Over 1.4 million military personnel were killed in the war (only 6% were members of the United States armed forces), while estimates of civilian fatalities range from 2 to 5.1 million. On April 30, 1975, the capital of South Vietnam, Saigon fell to the communist forces of North Vietnam, effectively ending the Vietnam War.

See also

*List of Medal of Honor recipients

Notes