33. “I Talked About Nothing For 50 Years Other Than That“
People don’t usually argue about somebody receiving America’s second-highest medal, but Mitch Libman knew that his hero pal deserved the highest one. So he made it his life’s mission to see to it that Kravitz got it. Year after year and decade after decade, Libman investigated the discrepancies in awards when it came to Jews and other minorities, and unearthed a clear pattern of discrimination. He contacted whoever he could think of, from Korean War newsletters to veteran groups to politicians, to influence anybody who would listen. As he put it: “I talked about nothing for 50 years other than that“.
Libman lobbied Congress, and finally convinced Representative Robert Wexler of Florida to introduce legislation calling for the Department of Defense to investigate. DoD examined awards to Jewish and Hispanic servicemen during WWII, the Korean War, and Vietnam, to see whether prejudice prevented any who deserved a Medal of Honor from getting one. It took years, but the investigation concluded that, indeed, prejudice had deprived dozens of deserving veterans from a well-earned Medal of Honor.