Yossarian's Medal...
What is the name of the medal that Yossarian recieves for his efforts in killing fish?
shareI believe it's the Distinguished Flying Cross, the highest medal a service can give (the Medal of Honor is from the US government). See
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distinguished_Flying_Cross_%28United_Stat es%29
and compare the photo there with the image from the movie when Yossarian tries to give it away.
Actually, the DFC is lower than the Medal of Honor AND the Distinguished Service Cross, which Yossarian would have been eligible for as the Air Force was then part of the Army. (The Navy and Marine Corps have the Navy Cross as an equivalent.) After the USAAF was made a separate service in 1947, the USAF had the Air Force Cross, equivalent to the DSC and the Navy Cross.
By the way, in the novel, Yossairna wins it by an act of bravery, by taking his wing in over the same target twice to take out a bridge they have faile to destroy in seven earlier missions. On the second pass (he was the lead navigator), a plane was lost and he feels guilty. Mike Nichols screwed it up entirely. The village was bombed in the novel, and innocent people were killed, though it isn't mentioned after the fact.
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"Why do people always laugh in the wrong places?"
--Col. Moodus
Yeah, I didn't like that change either. Maybe it's not such a big deal, but I think the reason he gets it in the book is just so much stronger, because, on top of them giving him a medal knowing he doesn't deserve, because of the lost plane, he feels guilty as you said. Maybe they felt the reason needed to be more absurd to get the point across.
#51"That's right, one can make all kinds of explosives using simple household items"