ICYMI - Proposed law would open the door for more troops to be awarded the Medal of Honor

A California lawmaker has introduced a bill that could pave the way for troops and veterans to receive the Medal of Honor many years after their heroic acts.

Rep. Darrell Issa, a Republican, introduced the Valor Has No Expiration Act earlier this month. If passed by Congress, the legislation would waive a current requirement that troops and veterans receive the Medal of Honor within five years of their actions that merit the award.

The bill was inspired by retired Capt. Royce Williams, a legendary naval aviator who battled seven Soviet MiG-15s during the Korean War and shot down four of the enemy aircraft during the longest dogfight in U.S. military history, according to a news release from Issa’s office. 

“His action, however, was kept classified for more than 50 years before becoming public, which made Williams ineligible for the Medal of Honor,” the news release says.

If Congress passes the law, it could allow Williams and others who until now have not been eligible for the Medal of Honor due to the five-year time limit to be properly recognized for their bravery.

“Captain Royce Williams — now 100 years young — is an American hero of the highest order,” Issa said in a statement. “Every American should know his story and what he did on that day nearly 73 years ago should go unrecognized no longer. With this reform legislation, America’s heroes — whether undiscovered, unknown, or unrevealed — can be honored as they should. Acts of valor have no expiration date.”

Williams initially received the Silver Star for his 35-minute dogfight against the MiGs, and in 2023, his award was upgraded to the Navy Cross.

Speaking to Task & Purpose on Tuesday, Williams said there doesn’t seem to be a reason for the five-year time limit for the Medal of Honor other than it might make processing awards easier.

Williams also said he has been honored by efforts to have him receive the Medal of Honor, and he was humble when asked how he managed to shoot down so many MiGs more than 70 years ago, replying, “I have a God that did it for me.”

The Congressional Medal of Honor Society was chartered by Congress to preserve the award’s legacy. While Chad Graham, the group’s executive director, said that the society respects efforts to ensure that those who have shown extraordinary courage are considered for the U.S. military’s highest military award, he stressed that they do not endorse specific individuals for the Medal of Honor. 

“The timeless nature of valor is something every recipient understands deeply,” Graham said in a statement. “However, the society does not engage in lobbying or advocate for specific individuals to be considered for upgrades to the Medal of Honor. That process rightly resides with the military services, Congress, and the Department of Defense. Our role is not to influence award determinations, but to carry out our congressionally chartered mission: to preserve the legacy of the medal, to promote the values it represents, and to support those who have received.”

Currently, Congress must pass individual waivers authorizing the president to award the Medal of Honor to service members and veterans after the five-year limit. Since 1981, the time limit has been waived for 91 service members, including two soldiers who took part in a mission behind enemy lines during the Civil War that has come to be known as “The Great Locomotive Chase,” said Doug Sterner, a renowned military awards expert and curator of the Military Times Hall of Valor.

One notable example is Army Sgt. 1st Class Alwyn Cashe, who gave his life to rescue several wounded soldiers trapped in a burning Bradley Fighting Vehicle that had been hit by a roadside bomb in Iraq in October 2005. Cashe’s uniform was drenched in fuel, and he became engulfed in flames, yet he continued to walk into the burning Bradley to pull his fellow men out of the vehicle. 

Despite suffering second- and third-degree burns over 72% of his body, Cashe refused to be medically evacuated before any of the other wounded. He died weeks later at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas. Initially, Cashe was posthumously awarded the Silver Star.

More than 15 years later and after a lengthy advocacy campaign, President Donald Trump signed a law in December 2020 that allowed Cashe to receive the Medal of Honor. The following year, Cashe became the first Black service member to be awarded the Medal of Honor since Sept. 11, 2001.

President Joe Biden noted at a Dec. 16, 2021, White House ceremony that Cashe’s family had been waiting 16 years for the moment when he would finally be awarded the Medal of Honor, and Biden thanked those who had advocated for Cashe to be recognized with the nation’s highest military honor.

“Sgt. Cashe and his family gave everything for our country,” Biden said. “Their devotion to his memory and their years working to make sure that his courage and selflessness were properly documented and honored is a testament to the love that he inspired and the legacy he left behind.”

His sister Kasinal Cashe White began advocating in 2007 for her brother’s Silver Star to be upgraded to the Medal of Honor. She told Task & Purpose that the five-year time limit should have already been abolished.

“I don’t think that any soldier — male or female; black, white, green or in between — if they do something that warrants a medal, any medal for our country, I don’t think there should be a time limit on it,” Cashe White said. 

She said that there are not enough ways for troops’ heroism in battle to be recorded for the awards process, and if her brother’s fellow soldiers in the 3rd Infantry Division had not told his story, he would never have received the Medal of Honor. She also said that a civilian needs to be on review boards for military awards because they have a different perspective from service officials about the process.

“My brother did what he did based on the love of his fellow soldiers,” Cashe White said. “He didn’t ask them as he was pulling them from that burning Bradley if they were Black or white. He just wanted to save his men. One of them was an Iraqi interpreter. That was just part of his team. So, I don’t think a time limit should have anything to do with it.”

Article by Jeff Schogol, 6/18/25, Task and Purpose, Proposed law would open the door for more troops to be awarded the Medal of Honor 

###