The Medal of Honor has been awarded 3,459 times to 3,440 individuals who have served their country with courage and bravery above and beyond the call of duty. In honor of New York City’s Fleet Week, read the stories of a few naval heroes here….

Robert Bush
War: World War II
Rank: Hospital Apprentice First Class, US Naval Reserve (serving as Medical Corpsman with a rifle company)
Official Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as Medical Corpsman with a rifle company, in action against enemy Japanese forces on Okinawa Jima, Ryukyu Islands, 2 May 1945. Read more…

John Finn
War: World War II
Rank: Lieutenant, US Navy
Official Citation: For extraordinary heroism distinguished service, and devotion above and beyond the call of duty. During the first attack by Japanese airplanes on the Naval Air Station, Kaneohe Bay, on December 7, 1941, Lt. Finn promptly secured and manned a .50-caliber machinegun mounted on an instruction stand in a completely exposed section of the parking ramp, which was under heavy enemy machine gun strafing fire. Read more…

Thomas Hudner, Jr.
War: Korean War
Rank: Lieutenant (J.G.) U.S. Navy, pilot in Fighter Squadron 32 attached to U.S.S. Leyte
Official Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as a pilot in Fighter Squadron 32, while attempting to rescue a squadron mate whose plane struck by antiaircraft fire and trailing smoke, was forced down behind enemy lines. Read more…

Thomas Norris
War: Vietnam
Rank: Lieutenant, U.S. Navy, SEAL Advisor, Strategic Technical Directorate Assistance Team, Headquarters, U.S. Military Assistance Command
Official Citation: Lieutenant Norris completed an unprecedented ground rescue of two downed pilots deep within heavily controlled enemy territory in Quang Tri Province. Lieutenant Norris, on the night of April 10, led a 5-man patrol through 2,000 meters of heavily controlled enemy territory, located one of the downed pilots at daybreak, and returned to the Forward Operating Base (FOB). Read more…

For more stories of valor, visit AMERICAN VALOR online.