Medal of Honor earned, not “won”

In the Dec. 18 paper, the obituary for Sen. Daniel Inouye states that “Inouye was a World War II hero and Medal of Honor winner ...” It should be noted that no one “wins” the Medal of Honor.

The men and women who risk their lives to save the lives of others “receive” the Medal of Honor for their acts of heroism and are recognized by our government and the people they serve. These heroes are Medal of Honor recipients. They “win” nothing.

Winning implies one was successful during a contest. Rest assured, none of our Medal of Honor recipients were in any contest.

Dale Chellis

Kildeer