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CMC: Living MoH recipient may be coming

The Marine Corps commandant said Wednesday that an investigator is reviewing a valor case that, if approved, would yield the first living recipient of the Medal of Honor in the war on terrorism.

“We have a case that I sent an investigating officer out to take a look at on the West Coast that, if proven, I think will prompt me to recommend the Medal of Honor for a living Marine,” Gen. James T. Conway said.

If the Corps were to make a formal nomination, the case would go to the secretary of the Navy for approval, followed by the secretary of Defense and then the president.

Conway did not identify the Marine or the country in which the Marine served.

To date, five service members — two soldiers, two sailors and one Marine — have received the military’s top valor award for actions in Iraq and Afghanistan, all posthumously.

Conway, who was speaking at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., as part of the National Defense Technology & Requirements Conference, described the fact that all five were killed in action as happenstance and not reflective of any kind of award standard.