HISTORIC
MEDALS OF HONOR RETURNED TO VETERANS
Washington, D.C. - FBI Director Robert S. Mueller
today presided in a ceremony at FBI Headquarters
to return three Medals of Honor recovered in an
FBI investigation to the Congressional Medal of
Honor Society.
Members of the Congressional Medal of Honor (MOH)
Society have gathered in Washington, DC, to participate
in the Memorial Day Weekend dedication of the World
War II Memorial. The MOH is the highest award for
valor in action against an enemy force which can
be bestowed upon an individual serving in the armed
forces of the United States. The MOH is generally
presented by the President of the United States
on behalf of Congress and, therefore, it is often
called the Congressional MOH.
Director Mueller said, “The FBI was deeply
honored to host 27 Medal of Honor winners who served
in World War II and heroically served their country
above and beyond the call of duty.” The 27
medal winners and their families took part in the
FBI’s annual American Legion Post 56 Memorial
Day wreathlaying ceremony in the FBI Headquarters
courtyard. After this ceremony a tour of the FBI’s
Strategic Information Operations Center (SIOC) took
place. At the conclusion of the FBI tour the recovered
medals were returned in a ceremony in SIOC to Congressional
MOH Society President Gary Littrell, who was awarded
a MOH for his actions in Vietnam.
Recently, the three MOHs were recovered as a result
of investigations conducted by the FBI’s Buffalo
Cyber Task Force and the Royal Canadian Mounted
Police (RCMP). These recoveries are as follows:
- A Spanish-American War era MOH awarded to Navy
Seaman Robert Blume who was awarded his MOH in 1898
while serving aboard the USS Nashville near Cuba
during the Spanish American War.
- A MOH awarded to U.S. Army First Sergeant George
W. Roosevelt during the Civil War, who received
an extremely rare dual citation MOH in 1862 for
heroic acts performed during the Second Battle of
Bull Run and the Battle of Gettysburg.
- In Newark, New Jersey, a WWII Navy/Marine Corps
MOH in the original presentation box (recipient
unknown).
These medals were being sold illegally over e-Bay
and were recovered as a result of a joint investigation.
Fifteen Canadian and U.S. law enforcement agencies
assisted the FBI’s Buffalo Cyber Task Force
investigation. To date, one person has pled guilty
to Federal charges involving the unlawful sale of
any MOH.
