NH Medal of Honor Roll to be Unveiled at the Statehouse

The New Hampshire Medal of Honor Roll, established in 2010 with the passage of Senate Bill 509, will take up residence in the State House beginning Sept. 30, 2015, according to a press statement from Jim Rivers, a spokesperson for Speaker of the House, Shawn Jasper.

The legislation, originally sponsored by former state Sen. Jack Barnes, R-Raymond, directed the Adjutant General to provide for the design and manufacture of the New Hampshire Medal of Honor and to maintain a Medal of Honor Roll which shall be available for public viewing. At 10 a.m. a display case containing a shadowbox with a New Hampshire Medal of Honor, an explanation of the medal, and the New Hampshire Medal of Honor Roll of those names who have been presented with the distinguished honor will be unveiled in a ceremony held opposite Room 103 in the Statehouse.

The New Hampshire Medal of Honor is awarded to “any New Hampshire Citizen who has given his or her life while in military service to protect and serve the rights and freedoms of the people of New Hampshire on or after November 4, 1979.” The New Hampshire Medal of Honor is awarded with the recommendation of The Adjutant General by Joint Resolution of the New Hampshire Senate President, the House Speaker, and presented by the Governor to the family members of the recipient (RSA 110-B:81).

This summer Major General William N. Reddel, III, the current Adjutant General for New Hampshire, formally requested approval of the Joint Legislative Facilities Committee to prominently display the case in the State House. On Monday June 8, 2015, the Joint Legislative Historical Committee recommended the placement of the Medal of Honor shadowbox, and on August 19, 2015, the Joint Legislative Facilities Committee approved the actual placement of the display.

The original legislation creating the New Hampshire Medal of Honor Roll was also cosponsored by then-state Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-Exeter, along with Sens. Bette Lasky, D-Nashua, and Sharon Carson, R-Londonderry. Co-sponsors from the New Hampshire House included state Reps. Al Baldasaro, R-Londonderry, Kris Roberts, D-Keene, and the late Leo Pepino, R-Manchester.