# Medal of Honor (2018 TV series)
**Medal of Honor** is an American documentary anthology television series that premiered on Netflix on November 9, 2018. Across eight episodes, each roughly an hour long, it profiles one recipient of the [Medal of Honor](https://www.edgepedia.org/medal-of-honor), the United States military's highest award for valor, which has been bestowed upon fewer than 3,600 Americans since President Abraham Lincoln signed it into law in 1861.[1](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/medal-of-honor) Each episode combines interviews with family members and fellow soldiers, archival footage, and scripted live-action reenactments of the actions that earned the award.[1](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/medal-of-honor) • [2](https://www.stripes.com/news/2018-11-20/medal-of-honor-series-is-veteran-made-from-lighting-to-action-1511529.html)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Premiere | November 9, 2018, on Netflix; all eight episodes released the same day[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/medal_of_honor) |
| Format | Hybrid documentary and live-action reenactment, one recipient per episode[4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxv7bb5gfMU) |
| Executive producers | James Moll, Robert Zemeckis, Jack Rapke, Jacqueline Levine, and Brandon Birtell; produced by Allentown Productions and Compari Entertainment[1](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/medal-of-honor) |
| Subjects | Eight recipients spanning World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and Afghanistan[1](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/medal-of-honor) |
| Living recipients | Clint Romesha, Ty M. Carter, and Hiroshi "Hershey" Miyamura[2](https://www.stripes.com/news/2018-11-20/medal-of-honor-series-is-veteran-made-from-lighting-to-action-1511529.html) |
| Narrator | Josh Charles[5](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/medal-of-honor-2018) |
| Rating and runtime | TV-MA; episodes run about 55 minutes[5](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/medal-of-honor-2018) |
## Spoilers
### Episodes
The first season profiles eight men whose actions span four wars and three branches of service.[2](https://www.stripes.com/news/2018-11-20/medal-of-honor-series-is-veteran-made-from-lighting-to-action-1511529.html) The subjects and their conflicts are:[1](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/medal-of-honor)
1. **Sylvester Antolak** (World War II): pinned down by heavy enemy fire near Cisterna, Italy, in 1944, the U.S. Army sergeant led a charge that became legendary.[6](https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/80169786)
2. **Clint Romesha** (Afghanistan): outgunned and outmanned during the October 2009 attack on [Combat Outpost Keating](https://www.edgepedia.org/combat-outpost-keating), the Army staff sergeant led an improbable defense in the [Battle of Kamdesh](https://www.edgepedia.org/battle-of-kamdesh); he was one of two Army soldiers awarded the Medal of Honor for that battle.[6](https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/80169786) • [2](https://www.stripes.com/news/2018-11-20/medal-of-honor-series-is-veteran-made-from-lighting-to-action-1511529.html)
3. **Edward Carter** (World War II): relegated to the rank of private due to institutional racism, the experienced soldier single-handedly crippled an enemy stronghold.[6](https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/80169786)
4. **Hiroshi "Hershey" Miyamura** ([Korean War](https://www.edgepedia.org/korean-war)): resorting to hand-to-hand combat and machine-gun fire, he covered his men's retreat as waves of Chinese soldiers overran his position, and was taken prisoner.[6](https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/80169786) • [2](https://www.stripes.com/news/2018-11-20/medal-of-honor-series-is-veteran-made-from-lighting-to-action-1511529.html)
5. **Vito Bertoldo** (World War II): declared 4-F (US draft classification: unfit for military service) because of poor eyesight, he joined the Army anyway and halted an enemy advance alone at the front lines.[6](https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/80169786)
6. **Joseph Vittori** (Korean War): during a nighttime battle, the U.S. Marine rotated between machine gun nests, making the enemy believe it faced a larger force.[6](https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/80169786)
7. **Richard L. Etchberger** (Vietnam): with his radar station besieged by Vietnamese troops, the Air Force chief master sergeant was exposed to enemy fire while his comrades evacuated.[6](https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/80169786)
8. **Ty M. Carter** (Afghanistan): the Army specialist's bravery while wounded and under fire earned the second Medal of Honor awarded for a Taliban attack in 2009.[6](https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/80169786)
The battlegrounds covered range from Italy, Germany, and France during World War II, to the 38th parallel in Korea, to Laos during the deadliest year of the [Vietnam War](https://www.edgepedia.org/vietnam-war), to the mountains of Afghanistan.[7](https://media.netflix.com/en/only-on-netflix/80169786)
## Production
**Origins.** Executive producer Brandon Birtell, a Marine Corps veteran, conceived the idea in 1996 while enduring boot camp, where the final challenge for recruits, the Crucible, uses obstacles named for Medal of Honor recipients whose stories drill instructors retell. Years later he and his cousin, his writing partner, teamed with filmmaker James Moll; developing and selling the series took nearly a decade, and production itself nearly three years.[2](https://www.stripes.com/news/2018-11-20/medal-of-honor-series-is-veteran-made-from-lighting-to-action-1511529.html) Moll, an Oscar, Grammy, and Emmy award-winning filmmaker, found that network executives he pitched did not respond until he brought the project to Netflix; partnering with Oscar and Golden Globe-winning director [Robert Zemeckis](https://www.edgepedia.org/robert-zemeckis) helped move it forward.[2](https://www.stripes.com/news/2018-11-20/medal-of-honor-series-is-veteran-made-from-lighting-to-action-1511529.html)
**Veteran participation.** The production deliberately hired veterans across crew positions. "We had veterans working on set, as many as we could, from cameras to lighting to wardrobe to makeup, everything we could put a veteran in, we tried our best," Birtell said.[2](https://www.stripes.com/news/2018-11-20/medal-of-honor-series-is-veteran-made-from-lighting-to-action-1511529.html) Mike Dowling, a Marine Corps veteran of Iraq, served as technical advisor on choreography, tactics, and weapons, and helped engage the Defense Department and the Congressional Medal of Honor Society; he also screened out applicants who lied about their service.[2](https://www.stripes.com/news/2018-11-20/medal-of-honor-series-is-veteran-made-from-lighting-to-action-1511529.html) The Defense Department supplied Humvees and other vehicles, active-duty soldiers as background performers, and script review; for the Richard Etchberger episode, the Air Force reviewed the script, provided historical Vietnam footage, and had historians consult on the reenactment scenes.[8](https://www.defense.gov/News/Feature-Stories/story/Article/1688861/bringing-medal-of-honor-heroics-to-life/) Veteran status was not a free pass for casting: [Nate Boyer](https://www.edgepedia.org/nate-boyer), a Special Forces veteran and former NFL player who portrays a World War II soldier in the Bertoldo episode, noted that candidates still had to audition and earn their parts.[2](https://www.stripes.com/news/2018-11-20/medal-of-honor-series-is-veteran-made-from-lighting-to-action-1511529.html)
**Recipient involvement.** After completion, episodes were screened for the three living recipients profiled in the season: Romesha, [Ty Carter](https://www.edgepedia.org/ty-carter), and Miyamura. Miyamura, then in his early 90s, watched his episode alongside Joe Anello, a squad member he is credited with saving, and told the producers they had said everything he wanted to say and more.[2](https://www.stripes.com/news/2018-11-20/medal-of-honor-series-is-veteran-made-from-lighting-to-action-1511529.html) Romesha had initially worried the reenactments might glorify his exploits, but said he was happy with a result that focused on his fellow soldiers and how they moved past what was probably the worst day of their lives.[2](https://www.stripes.com/news/2018-11-20/medal-of-honor-series-is-veteran-made-from-lighting-to-action-1511529.html)
## Reception
On Rotten Tomatoes the season holds an average Popcornmeter (audience) score of 89 percent, with critics' reviews describing strong expert interviews and archival footage, and reenactments that add to the viewing experience; a Daily Dot review called the series "a testament to empathy" that honors its subjects without becoming self-congratulatory.[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/medal_of_honor) • [9](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/medal_of_honor/s01) Common Sense Media, which recommends the series for ages 15 and up, notes that the reenactments contain shootings, explosions, and bloody wounds, and that some episodes discuss racism.[10](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/medal-of-honor)
According to the producers, the series was conceived to fill a public awareness gap, since it debuted in an era in which only a small number of Americans are in the military or personally know a service member, and since much of the public may be unfamiliar with what the Medal of Honor represents or the way one earns it. They hoped the eight stories would inspire new generations and open the way to telling stories of the more than 3,500 Americans who have received the award since 1861.[2](https://www.stripes.com/news/2018-11-20/medal-of-honor-series-is-veteran-made-from-lighting-to-action-1511529.html)
## References
1. [NETFLIX LAUNCHES MEDAL OF HONOR CELEBRATING EIGHT MEN WHO WENT ABOVE AND BEYOND THE CALL OF DUTY, About Netflix (5 October 2018)](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/medal-of-honor)
2. [Chad Garland, "'Medal of Honor' series is veteran-made, from lighting to action," Stars and Stripes (20 November 2018)](https://www.stripes.com/news/2018-11-20/medal-of-honor-series-is-veteran-made-from-lighting-to-action-1511529.html)
3. [Medal of Honor, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/medal_of_honor)
4. [Medal of Honor | Official Trailer [HD] | Netflix, YouTube (4 October 2018)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxv7bb5gfMU)
5. [Medal of Honor (2018), JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/medal-of-honor-2018)
6. [Medal of Honor, Netflix Official Site](https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/80169786)
7. [Medal of Honor, Netflix Media Center](https://media.netflix.com/en/only-on-netflix/80169786)
8. [Katie Lange, "Bringing Medal of Honor Heroics to Life," U.S. Department of Defense (19 March 2025)](https://www.defense.gov/News/Feature-Stories/story/Article/1688861/bringing-medal-of-honor-heroics-to-life/)
9. [Medal of Honor: Season 1, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/medal_of_honor/s01)
10. [Medal of Honor - Parents' Guide & TV Review, Common Sense Media](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/medal-of-honor)
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