The Examiner
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“TRUMAN REJECTS NATION’S HIGHEST HONOR” – Former President Harry S. Truman will not accept a Congressional Medal of Honor award should proposed legislation make it possible for the President of the United States to bestow such an honor.
In a letter to Rep. William J. Randall of Independence, Mr. Truman said, “In the first place, I do not consider that I have done anything which would be the reason for any award, Congressional or otherwise.”
“Next, the Congressional Medal of Honor was instituted for combat service. This is as it should be and to deviate by giving it for any other reason lessens and dilutes its true significance.”