South Carolina lawmakers are looking for a way to honor the state’s fallen soldiers, but haven’t yet been able to find just the right name.
A bill by Rep. Brian White, R-Anderson, would create a South Carolina Medal of Honor, to be bestowed on service men and women in the active duty armed forces, reserve or National Guard who die or are killed in the line of duty.
Though a House military panel is behind the idea of awarding soldiers, it decided Tuesday to send the bill back to subcommittee to be reworked.
Several representatives, including Rep. Tommy Pope, R-York, said veterans and the South Carolina Adjutant General Robert Livingston have expressed concern that the name should be reserved for the Congressional Medal of Honor, which is the highest U.S. military decoration.
“What I heard from the veterans particularly was you know they felt strongly that medals were earned by the military for the most part,” Pope said. “A Vietnam vet told me bluntly, ‘the military gives metals, leave that to them and then do what you want as a legislature.’”
Unlike South Carolina’s proposed honor, the Congressional Medal of Honor does not have to be a posthumous award, and can be given when a soldier acts valiantly while in action or military operations against a U.S. enemy or opposing force.
Because the Palmetto State honor would also enter the fallen soldier’s name on a registry to be maintained by the Adjutant General’s office, in addition to being presented to the surviving family, the suggested name change would be the “South Carolina Roll of Honor.”
There’s also discussion of tightening language to make sure the honor only goes to those who were killed in the line of duty, and which would not include all deaths during deployment.
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