150TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE (NAVY) MEDAL OF
HONOR

On December 9, 1861 Iowa Senator James
W. Grimes introduced S. No. 82 in the United States Senate, a bill designed to
"promote the efficiency of the Navy" by authorizing the production and
distribution of "medals of honor". On December 21st, 1861 the bill
was passed, authorizing 200 such medals be produced "which shall be bestowed
upon such petty officers, seamen, landsmen and marines as shall distinguish
themselves by their gallantry in action and other seamanlike qualities during
the present war (Civil War)." President Lincoln signed the bill and the (Navy)
Medal of Honor was born

This is a fist ever posting of a picture of Sgt William Lloyd Nelson. He is
Delaware's only recipient of the Medal of Honor who was killed in action. There
are other photographs of him, but this is a new one. It was taken at Ft. Bragg
in 1941.

We were presented the George Washington Honor Medal by the Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge on the 11th of November. We were selected for this national award from over 300 entries. Our entry was entitled "So These Men Shall Never Die". The entry included events we held and participated in, discoveries we have made over the past year, and profiles we have put together of the Delaware Recipients and the African-American Recipients of the Medal of Honor. We are sincerely grateful to be presented this award by Freedoms Foundation. We submitted this entry in the name of all Recipients of the Medal of Honor and are dedicating the award to all the members of the Delaware National Guard.