About the Medal of Honor

On July 24th, approximately 250 people gathered at the AMEDD Museum to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the AMEDD Museum and kick off the fund-raising campaign for the Medal of Honor Walk project. Attendees enjoyed a delicious meal catered by Dottie Biediger from 6B’s Catering, and listened and danced to music by the Tailpipes.  Thanks to many wonderful sponsors, who bought tables allowing Soldiers and Wounded Warriors to attend, as well as donors for the silent auction, $13,790 was raised for the Medal of Honor Walk project, a great beginning to the fund-raising campaign!  Among the attendees was Medal of  Honor recipient MG (Ret) James H. Brady and his wife along with The Surgeon General, LTG Eric B. Schoomaker. 

The occasion of the 20th Anniversary of the building of the current AMEDD Museum was certainly a time to reflect on the amazing accomplishments of a number of people who wanted to preserve the history of the Army Medical Department. The devotion and perseverance of these individuals is something that we should remember and emulate. They had the vision and desire to see a museum building at Fort Sam Houston to contain the equipment and documents that soldier medics used from the beginning of Army medicine to the current day. They set about developing a multi-pronged “attack” to design and plan for a building, to secure approval of the Department of the Army to build and donate the building, and to raise the funds needed to construct the building. When that was completed, they began to dream and conceive additional buildings and outdoor displays. The current Army Medical Department Museum is a testament and reminder of the     dedication of so many people who had a common vision and common desire to build a facility which was appropriate for the preservation of the history of the countless individuals we collectively call “Army  Medics.”  The 20th Anniversary Gala celebration was an opportunity to recall the past, appreciate the present, and plan for the future.   Recognition of Army Medical Department Medal of Honor recipients by creating an outdoor memorial will be a reminder of soldiers who took actions of “uncommon valor” resulting in the award of the nation’s highest military award.

The AMEDD Medal of Honor Walk will be a beautifully landscaped area of the Museum grounds with a fully functional amphitheater for programs, classes, and presentations. The walk will be placed in an area of the museum grounds which will permit curved walkways for leisurely strolls along sidewalks with walk monument stations listing the names of soldier “medics” who have been awarded the Medal of Honor.  The AMEDD Museum is “world class” and a “standout” facility in the Army Museum system. The work of the Foundation is not finished. Much remains to be done to collect and preserve items used in the delivery of Army medicine for over 200 years. There have been significant purchases and item donations, collections, equipment, and books in recent years.  There are innumerable  items  still   awaiting identification and addition to the museum holdings. Medal of Honor photos below courtesy of Tetra Tech.