This list represents all of the 146 United States military personnel who received the Medal of Honor for valor in combat during the Korean War. 98 Medals of Honor were awarded posthumously. The Korean War was an escalation of border clashes between two rival Korean regimes (each of which was supported by external powers) with each Korean regime trying to topple the other through political and guerilla tactics. In a very narrow sense, some may refer to it as a civil war, though many other factors were at play. After failing to strengthen their cause in the free elections held in South Korea during May 1950 and the refusal of South Korea to hold new elections per North Korean demands, the communist North Korean Army moved south on June 25, 1950 to attempt to reunite the Korean peninsula, whi