Bend Heroes Foundation notes celebration of National Medal of Honor Day

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- National Medal of Honor Day will  be celebrated next Monday, March 25, the Bend Heroes Foundation noted. It was established by Congress to “foster public appreciation and recognition of Medal of Honor Recipients.”

March 25th was chosen because it was on that date in 1863 that the first Medals of Honor were presented to six members of Andrews’ Raiders. President Lincoln signed Medal of Honor legislation in 1861 and 1862. Presidents issue proclamations on that special day.

According to the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, there are only 63 Medal of Honor recipients living in our nation today. They represent less than 2% of all 3,517 recipients awarded our nation's highest award for valor since the Civil War when the award was created. The last recipient living in Oregon was the late Robert D. "Bob" Maxwell of Bend.

The Medal of Honor award is presented to members of the Armed Forces who acted with conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty at risk to  their lives during combat with an enemy of the United States.  

Bend Heroes Foundation, a nonprofit entity, has taken the following actions honoring Medal of Honor recipients at the local, state and national levels over the last eight years:

Initiating and dedicating the Oregon Medal of Honor Exhibit at the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum in McMinnville honoring 29 Medal of Honor recipients connected with Oregon,

Designating the 451 mile US Hwy 20 across Oregon as the Oregon Medal of Honor Highway,

Designating the 3,365 mile Medal of Honor Highway Across America through 12 states honoring recipients from those states on US Hwy 20 - the longest highway in the United States,

Initiating legislation in the United States Congress designating the National Medal of Honor Highway across the United States on US Hwy 20 honoring all of our nation's current and future recipients,

Designating 12 cities across Oregon as Medal of Honor cities where the 29 recipients are connected by birth, entry into service, residence, or burial,

Adding five Medal of Honor recipients "missing to history" to Medal of Honor Memorials in Salem, OR,

Adding 15 Medal of Honor recipients "connected with Oregon" to the Medal of Honor Memorial at the state capitol who were not recognized with the 13 recipients accredited to Oregon, and  

Renaming the VA Clinic in Bend as the Robert D. Maxwell Department of Veterans Affairs Clinic honoring the late Robert D. "Bob" Maxwell, Director of Bend Heroes Foundation, a WWII Army Veteran, and the oldest living Medal of Honor recipient in our nation at the time.