On December 9, 1861 Iowa Senator James W. Grimes introduced United States Senate Bill No. 82 designed to "promote the efficiency of the Navy" by authorizing the production and distribution of "medals of honor", now more commonly known as the United State Congressional Medal of Honor. On December 21st of that year the bill was passed, authorizing 200 such medals be produced. President Lincoln signed the bill and the (Navy) Medal of Honor was born. Several months later a similar bill was also signed introducing the Army's version of the Medal of Honor and in 1965 the Air Force instituted their version of the Medal of Honor, rounding out all branches of service with the Marine Corps and Coast Guard falling under the Navy's version of the medal. The Medal of Honor is the only United States Military Award that is worn around the neck rather than pinned to the uniform.

Fast forward to May 31, 2001, in a similar effort to recognize members of public safety, both law enforcement and the fire service, President George Bush signed into law the Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor Act, creating the highest national award for valor by a public safety officer. Like the Congressional Medal of Honor awarded to our bravest military men and women, the PSO Medal of Valor is awarded by the President of the United States to a public safety officer who has exhibited exceptional courage, extraordinary decisiveness and presence of mind, and unusual swiftness of action, regardless of his or her own personal safety, in the attempt to save or protect human life.

Those eligible for this award must be a public safety officer defined as a person serving a public agency, with or without compensation, as a firefighter, law enforcement officer, or emergency services officer. The term "law enforcement officer" includes a person who is a corrections or court officer or a civil defense officer. Key to the thousands of Reserve and Auxiliary officers throughout out nation who volunteer their time to serve their communities are the words, "with or without compensation", meaning they are also eligible for our nations highest honor.