Netflix will tell the stories of brave military members awarded the Medal of Honor as part of its new series, “Medal of Honor.” According to Netflix’s site, the docudrama will be “honoring soldiers whose courageous service merited the awarding of a Medal of Honor.” The series will be “recreating their inspiring true stories.”
Through showcasing interviews with family members, fellow soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines, as well as recreations of the events themselves, the series will bring attention to the extraordinary acts of bravery that these ordinary people did on the battlefield. The series will also include rare interviews with Medal of Honor recipients about what motivated them and how they found the courage to act in the face of danger.
“Everything we did that day, we didn’t do it because we hated the enemy. Combat is not a great thing to be in and it’s not a motivation to hate, by no means,” said one of the recipients in an interview on the series. “It’s a motivation of love for your brothers.”
Netflix calls the series “gripping and intimate” in a press release earlier this month. The trailer promises both action-packed sequences as well as intensely personal portrayals of true heroes.
“The Medal of Honor represents usually the worst day of your life,” said one interviewee. It also represents love, according to multiple people interviewed. “When you’re willing to put yourself in front of that bullet for your men, that’s love.”
Collaborating on the project are Academy Award-winning Executive Producer Robert Zemeckis (“Forrest Gump” and “Back to the Future”) and Jack Rapke (“Cast Away”). They worked together previously on the movie “Flight,” starring Denzel Washington. The team is joined by Oscar, Grammy, and Emmy winner James Moll, who is known for his skills with documentaries.
“We cannot think of a better way to give back to the military community than by telling these incredibly heroic true stories,” said Zemeckis.
Extraordinary Bravery and Exceptional Valor
The Congressional Medal of Honor was created in 1861 by President Abraham Lincoln to recognize servicemen who demonstrate “conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty.”
Since its creation, it has only been awarded 3,505 times, according to the Congressional Medal of Honor Society. Only 74 recipients are still living today. Many recipients were awarded the medal posthumously for acts that required them to sacrifice their own life to save others.
The eight-part series will begin airing on the streaming service on November 9. Each episode will feature a particular event, showcasing the bravery of the service member through interviews, archived footage, and recreated scenes.
Episodes will range from World War II to Afghanistan. Each episode will feature a particular event, showcasing the bravery of the service member through interviews, archived footage, and recreated scenes. Medal of Honor recipients featured include Sylvester Antolak (World War II), Clint Romesha (Afghanistan), Edward Carter (World War II), Hiroshi “Hershey” Miyamura (The Korean War), Vito Bertoldo (World War II), Joseph Vittori (The Korean War), Richard L. Etchberger (Vietnam), and Ty M. Carter (Afghanistan).
