As part of its 10-year anniversary, the Dole Institute of Politics hosted military historian Jim Willbanks for a Thursday afternoon talk on the history of the Medal of Honor and its recipients.

Willbanks, himself a decorated veteran of the Vietnam War, is an author and director of the Department of Military History at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College in Fort Leavenworth.

In his talk, lasting just under an hour, Willbanks chronicled the medal’s awarding through every major military conflict since the Civil War. He recited fast facts, like the 19 veterans who won it twice, and discussed the medal’s history of wrestling with discrimination.

Although the medal was not reserved for just white men from its earliest beginnings in the 1860s, Willbanks explained, discrimination still got in the way of many veterans and the award.

Among winners from the Civil War were the first African American, William Harvey Carney, and, to this day, the only woman, Mary Edwards Walker — a surgeon and prisoner of war.

Neither received it with ease, however. Willbanks said Carney did not get his medal for 37 years. Walker’s medal was eventually rescinded decades later, but it was posthumously restored by President Jimmy Carter.

It was with Carter that a trend began in which U.S. presidents strived to address past oversights “brought about by discrimination,” Willbanks said.

In the decades since, overdue medals have been bestowed on African Americans, Asian Americans, Native Americans, Jews and others, according to Willbanks.

“They come from all walks of life, all backgrounds, different ethnicities and cultures,” Willbanks said of all the award’s recipients, numbering more than 3,000. “They come from all over the county and some come from foreign lands.

“But they all share the same thing,” he added. “At some particular point in their lives, they selflessly performed extraordinary, courageous acts of valor in the face of insurmountable odds.”