Special to WorldTribune.com

Not one living veteran of the Iraq war has been awarded the Medal of Honor during the Obama administration. Rep. Duncan Hunter would like to know why.

“The fact that there’s not a single living recipient of the Medal of Honor from the war in Iraq is a mystery,” Hunter, a California Republican, said.

The Medal of Honor, the military’s highest honor, is presented to veterans who performed a deed of “personal bravery” that was “beyond the call of duty” and “involved risk of life” during a conflict against an enemy of the United States.

Hunter said that the process for awarding the medal has “become overly politicized and while this administration has at least gone to greater lengths to recognize courage in Afghanistan, we still don’t have a single living recipient from Iraq, and it’s definitely not because they don’t exist.”

In a 2010 interview with CNN, then-Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said “part of the reason (for the Medal of Honor not being awarded) is the nature of war today in the sense, our enemies generally use weapons at a distance from us. So, there’s less hand-to-hand or in-close combat than there has been in previous wars.”

Hunter, who served with the Marine Corps in Iraq and Afghanistan, rejected Gates’ explanation.

“To say that there is not one act of valor that is consistent with the requirements for the Medal of Honor is a real disservice to every service person who fought and sacrificed,” Hunter said.

There have been 13 Medals of Honor given to veterans of the war in Afghanistan, and just four (all posthumously) to Iraq veterans. The tally for other wars included 472 for World War II, 146 for Korea and 258 for Vietnam.

Then-Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel began a review of the process for awarding medals in 2014 and current Defense Secretary Ashton Carter is expected to complete the review.

  Ashton Carter, Chuck Hagel, highest military honor, Rep. Hunter: Why has no living veteran of Iraq war received Medal of Honor?, Robert Gates, WorldTribune.com