To the video generation, Medal of Honor is an exciting game. To anyone with military connections, however, it is the highest award that may be given to US armed forces – the equivalent to Britain’s Victoria Cross.

While more common than the VC (it has been awarded 3,475 times since it was created in 1862 during the American Civil War, compared to 1,356 VCs since 1856) the criteria are similar, being for “Conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while engaged in an action against any enemy”. 627 have been given posthumously.

Using clips and archival photography, this film tells the story of the three medals of honour, one for each branch of the armed services. There are also interviews with 13 of the 102 recipients who are still alive, along with many stories recalling the exploits of other recipients.

They include Union soldier William Harvey Carney, who carried the stars and stripes despite injury and became the first African American recipient in 1853; a Holocaust survivor who single-handedly defended a hill from an advancing enemy force in the Korean War; an injured Navy SEAL who saved the lives of two comrades by swimming for two hours to bring them to safety; a Marine at Iwo Jima who wiped out seven Japanese bunkers single-handed; up to Sgt Paul Smith, the first soldier to receive a Medal of Honor in the Iraq war.