DVIDSOn Saturday, President Donald Trump hosted 25 living recipients of the Medal of Honor at the White House in recognition of the rarely-celebrated Medal of Honor Day. But being awarded the the nation's highest military award doesn't happen often. The medal has only been conferred just 18 times after more than a decade of combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. Many recipients lose their lives in the act that the award recognizes. But some, like retired Marine Cpl.