Hometown Heroes Awarded on 150th Anniversary of Medal of Honor

Recipients Celebrate Brave U.S. Citizens with Special Ceremony

ARLINGTON, Va., March 19, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Our nation's greatest war heroes – Medal of Honor recipients – will personally present awards to four unsung citizen heroes who've saved lives in extraordinary circumstances, during a special ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery.  Approximately 20 Medal of Honor recipients are expected to attend the ceremony.

The recipients will first commemorate Medal of Honor Day, on the 150^th anniversary of the Medal's first presentation, with a wreath-laying at 2:00 at the Tomb of the Unknowns. The recipients will then present the Citizen Service Before Self Honors (CSBSH) awards at 2:30 to four honorees selected from a nationwide campaign for going above and beyond for their fellow man.

The four honorees for the Citizen Service Before Self Honors (CSBSH) are:

• Father Joe Carroll, (San Diego, California) – Developed and ran a multi-faceted homeless support center offering assistance, counseling and job training, that is now modeled throughout the U.S.
• Marcos Ugarte, (Troutdale, Oregon) – 15-year-old boy who saved a younger neighbor from a burning home by climbing a ladder, pushing his way through a window and coaxing the boy to safety.
• Jesse Shaffer III and Jesse Shaffer IV, (Braithwaite, Louisiana) – During Hurricane Isaac, this father-and-son team used their boat to rescue 120 people from their flood-ravaged town after official rescues were called off.

These four honorees were chosen by Medal of Honor recipients from a pool of 23 finalists, announced last month in the CSBSH program that collected hundreds of hero nominations from across the U.S. between September and December 2012. It's all part of the Medal of Honor Society and Foundation's mission to share the values of the medal with all Americans.

"We believe that the values of the medal, courage, sacrifice and selflessness are present in all Americans. These four hometown heroes have demonstrated these values by acting courageously to change fate. We celebrate these heroes today, and thank them for the hope they give us," said Medal of Honor Society President Hal Fritz.

Citizen Service nominations were made online by Members of Congress, police and fire officials, mayors, governors and ordinary citizens. Nominations for heroes surrounding the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings in December are being handled separately later this year.

The complete list of CSBSH finalists, including details of their heroic stories, and more information on the CSBSH program is available at www.csbsh.org.  More information on the Medal of Honor can be found at www.CMOHS.org.

SOURCE The Congressional Medal of Honor Society & Foundation