Who do we NOT give a medal to? The story of Lt. Cushing is well known in both story and Legend, but what about the men that fell serving around Cushings guns before Lt. Cushing was killed. Yes some ran, but some didn't. Who were those who continued to serve their guns until Lt. Cushing was the last man among them?
Yes, I know that almost every one of our heros who wear the M.O.A. today say that they themselves do not deserve the award any more than the next guy who was there and that they wear it for them also. That certainly would have to be the case with Lt Cushing, because in W.B.T.S. military tactics the crews of artillery pieces were a primary targets for everyone in every battle.
For some reason Lt. Cushing was NOT put in for the M.O.A. by his commanders at the time even though the medal was available at the time and was being given out for far less acts of valor than Lt. Cushings, such as just picking up a Confederate battle flag from a dead soldiers hands on the battlefield.
A second point. Since the Congress of the United States around the turn of the 20th century gave V.A. benifits to Confederate Soldiers (i.e. we can get tombstones from the Feds for Confederate Soldiers) would that also apply to awards for acts of bravery by Confederate Soldiers? I know that is a far fetched concept, but no less a possibility.