Medal of Honor Day is a United States federal observance that is celebrated every year on March 25. It was created to honor the "heroism and sacrifice of

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valo ...

recipients for the United States." The holiday has been celebrated since 1991, when George H. W. Bush signed Public Law 101-564 on November 15, 1990, which was passed by the

101st United States Congress The 101st United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1989 ...

in November 1990, and created it. The holiday was chosen to be celebrated on March 25 to honor the 23 men who participated in the

Great Locomotive Chase The Great Locomotive Chase (also known as Andrews' Raid or the Mitchel Raid) was a military raid that occurred April 12, 1862, in northern Georgia during the American Civil War. Volunteers from the Union Army, led by civilian scout James J. And ...

and received Medals of Honor for it, particularly William Bensinger, Robert Buffum, Elihu H. Mason, Jacob Parrott, William Pittenger, and William H. H. Reddick, who received the first six Medals of Honor on March 25, 1863. The law reads (in part):

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Annual events in the United States Observances in the United States March observances Medal of Honor Presidency of George H. W. Bush Recurring events established in 1991 {{Holiday-stub