Originally Posted by
tdracer
It has nothing to do with 'freedom' - it's a condition of receiving the medal. Technically the medal belongs to the government, reselling it means you are effectively selling something that isn't really yours to sell.
If a condition of receiving the Medal of Honor is that it's 'non-transferable', then if the recipient doesn't agree with that condition, he/she has the 'freedom' to refuse the medal.
Once they accept the medal, they've agreed to the condition (in the case of posthumous awards, the condition applies to whomever accepts the award on their behalf.)
wow, that’s shocking.
“(in America) technically the medal still belongs to the government, selling it means selling something that isn’t yours”.
that’s quite an insult to the person awarded the medal, they don’t even own it?
Imagine if a relative was awarded a VC, and you were told it’s not actually theirs, because the government is too petty to let them own it.
I’ve been on the fence about medals being sold, but now I understand it, I think it’s the choice of the recipient and the recipient’s family.