Obama approves Civil War soldier for Medal of Honor
Obama approves Civil War soldier for Medal of Honor


President Obama has approved a proposal to award a Medal of Honor, the nation's highest military decoration, to a Union Army officer who died standing his ground against Pickett's Charge in the Battle of Gettysburg, the White House said Tuesday. Medal of Honor recipients are normally selected within two years of their battlefield heroism, but Congress granted a special exception for Civil War soldier 1st Lt. Alonzo H. Cushing in December at the urging of descendants and Civil War buffs.
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Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.
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