---
type: "LegalText"
title: "36 U.S.C. § 40502"
description: "Purposes"
jurisdiction: "us"
corpus: "united_states_code"
kind: "code_section"
title_number: 36
title_name: "PATRIOTIC AND NATIONAL OBSERVANCES, CEREMONIES, AND ORGANIZATIONS"
chapter_number: "405"
chapter_name: "CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR SOCIETY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA"
section: "40502"
citation: "36 U.S.C. § 40502"
status: "current"
release_point: "119-100"
release_date: "2026-06-26"
source: "official"
source_url: "https://uscode.house.gov/download/releasepoints/us/pl/119/100/xml_usc36@119-100.zip"
source_identifier: "/us/usc/t36/s40502"
source_file: "data/legal/raw/us/code/title-36/usc36.xml"
source_hash: "70328ff1b3848b5bc13f56b1366387d8558650a7739fdc2da508b53afe1c0338"
raw_snapshot_hash: "d8bb3c94f12bbd56e49d7a2bc029b1f4ab0bb8b69327e9ddbdf94d7adcac580d"
text_hash: "721e0739bd958399310cca2a82a29aa65f4c0a1febcd3237349df8417f7ccf62"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-04"
confidence: "official"
tags: ["legal", "us-code"]
---

# 36 U.S.C. § 40502 - Purposes

## Text

The purposes of the corporation are—

(1) to form a bond of friendship and comradeship among all holders of the Medal of Honor as presented by Congress;

(2) to protect, uphold, and preserve the dignity and honor of the medal at all times and on all occasions;

(3) to protect the name of the medal and individual holders of the medal from exploitation;

(4) to provide appropriate aid to all persons to whom the medal has been awarded, their widows, or their children;

(5) to serve our country in peace as in war;

(6) to inspire and stimulate our youth to become worthy citizens of our country; and

(7) to foster and perpetuate Americanism.

(Pub. L. 105–225, Aug. 12, 1998, 112 Stat. 1333.)

## Notes

Historical and Revision Notes RevisedSectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 4050236:793.Aug. 14, 1958, Pub. L. 85–642, § 3, 72 Stat. 598. Before clause (1), the word “objects” is omitted as included in “purposes”. In clause (5), the words “we did” are omitted to avoid the grammatical construction using the first person.