The Pentagon's most prestigious awards will still go to "those who display gallantry and valor in actions where their lives are on the line," Panetta said.
"Our military reserves its highest decorations, obviously, for those who display gallantry and valor in actions where their lives are on the line, and we will continue to do so," Mr. Panetta said.
Outgoing Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta defended the award's precedence, saying "Our military reserves its highest decorations obviously for those who display gallantry and valor in actions when their lives are on the line and we will continue to do so.
When terrorists attacked the Indian city of Mumbai in 2008, employees of the Taj Mumbai hotel displayed uncommon valor.
White displayed uncommon valor in dealing with the clueless Wright; in his position, I probably would have lost my cool and condemned her as a representative of the absolute lowest common denominator in American politics.
Everyday Parisians also pitched in, many of them displaying extraordinary valor.
In a Mensur bout, fencers display their valor through stoic endurance of an opponent's blows.
Veterans' Day is rightfully reserved to commend the valor displayed and lives given in places like the Argonne Forest, Okinawa, Bastogne, Inchon, Khe Sanh and Fallujah.
(The movie begins with a message from Damon Runyon, insisting that Gehrig "faced death with the same valor and fortitude that has been displayed by thousands of young Americans on the far-flung fields of battle").
Those blue suits, the first line of defense in maintaining the internal security of our nation, displayed a fortitude, dedication to duty and true valor that was in the highest tradition of law enforcement.
(In May 2013, after an event celebrating Malcolm X's birthday — where embassy workers in Sanaa displayed posters of the leader that said "Happy Birthday to Malcolm X, who bravely stood up against injustice and hate" — one Yemeni wrote on the embassy's Facebook page, "I wish the American ambassador were as courageous as this man Malcolm X who stood in valor against oppression").
