Matt with his medal awarded by the Navy at age 81. 
The naval officer who presented it to him remarked "They sure waited a long time to give you this."

This medal was approved by Congress and has been mistakenly called the "Congressional Medal of Honor". That is incorrect. Other medals were proposed for Matt but died in sub-committees. Details can be found in his full biography, Dark Companion, 1947.

Finally in 2000 the National Geographic Society agreed with Dr. Allen Counter and presented the Hubbard Medal to Matt's grand niece, Audrey Mebane. They had given a Hubbard Medal to white man Bartlett, who did not reach the Pole, 90 years earlier.

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