I know of about a 1/2 dozen instances of this myself. But, I wonder 1) is this really that important; 2) why isn't this constitutionally protected; 3) do we really need to devote a whole FBI agent to this?

1) If medals are really anything military men are going to respect, there needs to be some assurance that only those who earn them wear them.

2)Should the production and presentation of fake licenses be constitutionally protected?

3) It probably only needs 3/4 of an FBI agent. As soon as they invent one I'm sure they'll downgrade the position.

I am going to be a tad curmudgeonly, and nit-picky.

The Medal of Honor is just that, not the, "Congressional" Medal of Honor.

It is awarded by the President, in the name of the Congress, but the name is just Medal of Honor.

A small thing, but important to me.

TK

Yes, this is important.

Medals are earned, not handed out as door-prizes (though some are more earned than others).

When I see someone with a ribbon, or a lapel pin, or in a uniform, he is representing that he did something noteworty. If he is faking it, he is taking something of mine.

When someone pretends to be 21, with a fake ID, is that person doing a harm to any person? No, the harm is adjudged to be against the society at large, so to this.

Since it's a federal offense (as medals are a federal award) it requires a federal officer to enforce.

TK

Mr. Karney:

Although the military apparently refers to the medal as simply the "Medal of Honor," I am not all that certain than adding "Congressional" is incorrect. The criminal enforcement statute referenced above, 18 U.S.C. § 704(b), specifically refers to it as "Congressional Medal of Honor." It then defines that phrase as any medal awarded by the president pursuant to 10 U.S.C. §§ 3741, 6241, 8741 or 14 U.S.C. § 491. All of these provisions refer to the award as simply being a "medal of honor," but they do not explicitly name the award such and explictly note that the president "present[s] [it] in the name of Congress." So it doesn't really seem unreasonable or inaccurate to term it a "Congressional Medal of Honor."