Overview

• Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced in a video that the 20 Medals of Honor awarded for the 1890 Wounded Knee incident will be retained and said the decision is final.
• Hegseth said the panel formed last year under Austin advised against rescission and he criticized Austin for leaving the matter unresolved.
• The review stemmed from a 2022 congressional directive, with the panel tasked to evaluate each recipient and deliver recommendations by October 2024.
• Historical accounts describe Wounded Knee as a massacre in which roughly 250 to as many as 375 Lakota, including women and children, were killed, and about 25 U.S. soldiers also died, many likely from friendly fire.
• The decision comes as Hegseth and the administration have moved to restore or reinterpret military names and memorials linked to contested history, including Confederate-related symbols.