The Medal of Honor is considered the ultimate sign of courage and devotion above and beyond the call of duty. This reference book (a repeat of an edition first published by McFarland in 2005) presents all 296 United States Marines (and one Coast Guardsman, 21 United States Navy corpsmen and doctors and a chaplain, who served Marines in combat) who were awarded the Medal of Honor from 1861 to May 2003. Such men as Sergeant Richard Binder, whose good command led to the planting of a flag on rebel fortifications at Fort Fisher in 1865, and Lance Corporal Kenneth L. Worley, who in 1968 sacrificed himself to save his comrades from a grenade in Vietnam are honored.

A preface traces the evolution of the medal, its rewards, and its requirements. Each of the 318 entries (arranged within periods) includes biographical information, the actions that earned the award, and other relevant details. Appendices list the numbers of winners born in and accredited to each state or nation, a chronology of awards, and a breakdown of statistics showing the numbers of Marines killed earning the Medal of Honor in each war.