Medal of Honor Society Seeks Citizen-Heroes

Washington, DC-- October 11, 2007 Here is an opportunity to show the contributions every day Italian Americans give to this country.

By Washington Post
Published October 10, 2007

WASHINGTON - Wanted: everyday American heroes. Recipients of the Medal of Honor, the U.S. military's highest award for valor, are seeking examples of Americans who have demonstrated similar courage in their day-to-day lives.

Members of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society announced Tuesday a search for citizen- heroes who may be worthy of a new award: the Above & Beyond Citizen Honors.

The chief architect of the project is Paul Bucha, who earned his Medal of Honor during a four-day firefight in Vietnam in which he and his men were outnumbered and almost overwhelmed. Bucha, then a 24-year-old Army captain, was seriously wounded in the battle. It was 1968.

Now 64 and a successful real estate developer, he and other Medal of Honor holders are convinced that similar courage exists everywhere, often unrecognized, among average American citizens. Their effort to find and honor such heroes is supported by Colin Powell, a former secretary of state and retired Army general, as well as NBC-TV, which will televise the awards ceremony.

Heroism, in war or peace, is an act of defiance - a deed in which people "slam their fist and say, 'No. That isn't going to happen,'" Bucha said. "It's just an act that comes about, isn't planned, isn't necessarily understood. But it occurs. If you look at ordinary Americans, within them is this potential."

Bucha said the civilian awards will go to people who have done deeds above and beyond what duty or job has required. The society will also award a single so- called spotlight honor to a person in the public eye who has helped the needy and supported men and women in uniform.

"I want everyday Americans to look around them, and among them, and find those that are extraordinary and let us know about them," he said.

Fast facts Nominate a hero Recipients of the U.S. military's highest award want the public's help in identifying Americans who have shown similar courage in their day-to-day lives.

Nominations for the Above & Beyond Citizen Honors will be accepted through Dec. 16 at www.abo veandbeyond365.com.

The Congressional Medal of Honor Society will choose three winners to be honored live on television on March 25, which is Medal of Honor Day.

OSIA is the largest and oldest national organization in the United States for men and women of Italian descent in the United States. Established in 1905, OSIA has more than 600,000 members and supporters and a network of more than 745 chapters coast to coast.

OSIA works at the community, national and international levels to promote the heritage and culture of an estimated 16-26 million Italian Americans, the nation's fifth largest ethnic group, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.