Tim Graham pointed out earlier on Thursday how Whoopi Goldberg forwarded a misunderstanding on ABC's The View during an interview of Ann Romney - that Mormonism "doesn't allow you to go fight" in the military. Mrs. Romney corrected this false statement: "No, that's not correct....We have many, many members of our faith that are serving in the armed services."
Goldberg could have just consulted Wikipedia, as the website lists four Mormon recipients of the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest military award for valor - one from World War I, two from World War II, and one from the Vietnam War.
Among these four, only one - Captain Mervyn S. Bennion, USN - received his medal posthumously. The citation summarizes the circumstances of Captain Bennion's heroic death:
For conspicuous devotion to duty, extraordinary courage, and complete disregard of his own life, above and beyond the call of duty, during the attack on the Fleet at Pearl Harbor, by Japanese forces on 7 December 1941. As Commanding Officer of the U.S.S. West Virginia, after being mortally wounded, Captain Bennion evidenced apparent concern only in fighting and saving his ship, and strongly protested against being carried from the bridge.
Outside of this group, there are prominent Mormon former members of the military. Brent Scowcroft, a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, who would go onto become a lieutenant general in the United States Air Force and national security advisor under two presidents - Gerald Ford and George H. W. Bush - is probably the most well known.
