Medal of Honor

February 23, 2009

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Profile America for the 23rd day of Black History Month. On the list of those who have been awarded the nation’s highest honor is Milton Olive III, a slightly built young man from the South Side of Chicago. PFC Olive was a member the Army’s 173rd Airborne Brigade fighting in Vietnam. As he and four fellow soldiers were pursuing the enemy through the jungle, a grenade suddenly landed in their midst. Olive saved the lives of his fellow soldiers by throwing himself on top of the grenade, his body absorbing its full blast. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for this extraordinary heroism by President Johnson. Recent figures show the U.S. Army today has just over 500,000 men and women serving on active duty. This special edition of Profile America for Black History Month is a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau.

Sources: Statistical Abstract of the United States 2009, t. 494
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2009edition.html