Park University’s George S. Robb Centre for the Study of the Great War provided an update on the Valor Medals Review (VMR) Project at the “Credit Where Credit Is Overdue: The World War I Valor Medal Review” event hosted by the Kansas City (Mo.) Public Library at the Plaza Branch’s Truman Forum Auditorium on March 26, 2024.
Members of the George S. Robb Centre for the Study of the Great War’s Valor Medals Review (VMR) Project sat down for a panel discussion and Timothy Westcott, Ph.D., director of the Robb Centre, gave a short presentation.
Westcott and two of his researchers, Damon Grosvenor, a history senior and US Navy veteran, and Martin Roberson, a secondary education sophomore, spoke with Anne Kniggendorf, a staff writer and editor for the Kansas City Public Library, for over an hour. Over 50 people attended the event and several audience members asked questions during the public Questions & Answers portion of the event. The event was livestreamed on YouTube.
The VMR Project has submitted 50 Medal of Honor recommendations to the corresponding service branches. Forty-three have been submitted to the U.S. Army and another seven have been submitted to the U.S. Navy. The Army covers the regular Army and the Army Air Corps. The Navy will look at the Navy and Marine Corps personnel.
“It was an edifying experience, both for us and the audience,” said Roberson. This was Roberson’s first time being on a panel discussion. The event made his work feel more impactful. “We get to interact with the people who really care about our work in the real world,” he said. Roberson works directly with the primary accounts and acts of valor.
Karl Johnietz, an audience member, said, “Tonight was very interesting. These are complex issues and not always very nice.” Johneitz said that the researchers did a wonderful job at being clear and concise in answering the complexity of the questions involved.
Kniggendorf has written about the VMR before and wanted to reengage with the topic given the extension granted by Congress for the VMR Project in the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act, which passed in Dec. 2023. “The staff expresses deepest appreciation to our Congressional legislative sponsors and Department of Defense colleagues who supported the recent Valor Medals Review Project extension in H.R. 2670,” said Westcott.
The VMR is a systematic review of minority veterans of World War I who, in spite of their valorous deeds, may have been unjustly denied high-level valor awards due to race or religious discrimination. To date, the project has identified 214 service members who qualify for review – 105 Jewish Americans, 73 African Americans, 24 Native Americans, 11 Hispanic Americans and one Asian American.
For those interested, you can support the Valor Medals Review Project by visiting https://advancing.park.edu/giving/gsr-donate/ and donating.
