As of Wednesday morning, March 26, 2026, there have been 3533 recipients of U.S. Congressional Medal of Honor. Of those 3533, 677 are from the State of New York. Of those 677, four were from Cornwall.

Those facts resonated with Willow Ave. Elementary School fourth graders last week, when American Legion Post 353’s Vice Commander, Robert McLoughlin, shared them at the community’s annual Medal of Honor Day ceremony. It took place in at the Medal of Honor monument in front of Town Hall, and was attended by the fourth graders, three American Legion members and one community resident.

To be remembered that day were the four Cornwall recipients of the U.S. military’s highest military valor in action honor, McLoughlin explained to the students. They, all now deceased, are:

1st Lieutenant Abram Pye Haring, who fought at Bachelor’s Creek, North Carolina and resisted the attack of an overwhelming force of the enemy. He now rests in Canterbury Presbyterian Cemetery in Cornwall-on-Hudson. His medal was presented on June 28, 1890.

Corporal Owen McGough, who fought at the first full-scale battle of the Civil War in Bull Run, Virginia. His medal was presented on August 28, 1897.

2nd Lieutenant George W. G. Boyce, Jr., who found in the Battle of Driniumor River, near Afua, New Guinea in World War II. He sacrificed his life to save his men. His medal was presented on April 7, 1945.

Corporal William John Brewer, who captured the engineer flag of the Confederate Army during the Civil War. He is buried in the Quaker Cemetery in Cornwall. His medal was presented on May 3, 1865.

McLoughlin explained to the students that of the 3533 Medal of Honor recipients, just 64 are alive today. Knowing the children understood the concrete aspect of numbers, he also shared that in all the years the medal has been awarded, just 19 servicemen have received two Medals of Honor.

“While over 150 years have passed since its inception, the meaning behind the medal has never been tarnished,” he said. “Etched on its very surface are the values that each recipient displayed in the moments that mattered – bravery, courage, sacrifice, integrity, a deep love of country and a desire to always do what is right.”’

McLoughlin told the students that he has had the honor of meeting two Medal of Honor recipients, both in the U.S. Army in Vietnam: Col. Jack Jacobs and Capt. Paul Bucha.

As the short ceremony wrapped up – with a salute toward the markers of the four Cornwall men by McLoughlin, Scott Teresi and Dan Sheehan – the children and their teachers took a few minutes to examine each of the monuments.

The Willow Ave. Elementary students had researched the local Medal of Honor recipients before attending the event; they attend it each year. New York State’s fourth graders study the history, geography, economics, and government of the state and their local communities. The curriculum spans from pre-colonial Native American life to industrial growth, covering European exploration, the American Revolution, slavery in NYS, and the structure of local, state, and federal government.