Abraham Lincoln created the Medal of Honor which was first presented on March 25, 1863. But too few are aware of this momentous date and all that it stands for, so the Above & Beyond creators proposed that March 25th be set aside every year as a national holiday to commemorate Lincoln’s historic act and remind the American public about the Medal of Honor’s history and ideals.

This idea quickly gained the support of the 105 living Medal of Honor recipients who constitute the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, and legislation was drafted up to put this new holiday on the national calendar. The Bill was introduced in the House of Representatives on January 30, 2007, and was unanimously approved on February 27, 2007. A concurrent Bill was unanimously passed in the Senate on March 1st, 2007, and Senator John Warner announced the creation of this annual day to the American public on March 21st 2007.

March 25th 2007 was the first official National Medal of Honor Day in the United States. Perhaps Gary Littrell, the Congressional Medal of Honor Society’s President, summed it up best when he stated; “I do not view the 25th of March for the years to come as a day to honor ‘we’ the Medal of Honor recipients,” he said. “I view the 25th of March as a day that we the Medal of Honor recipients can give back to our youth.”

January 30, 2007 - National Medal of Honor Day legislation introduced in the House of Representatives

February 27, 2007 - House of Representatives unanimously votes for National Medal of Honor Day

March 1, 2007 - Senate unanimously votes to establish National Medal of Honor Day

March 21, 2007 - Senator John Warner announces creation of National Medal of Honor Day

March 25, 2007 - First National Medal of Honor Day observed in the United States