Along the main entrances to the small, rural Alabama town of Leeds are modest, unpretentious red, white and blue signs welcoming visitors. The signs read: "Leeds-City of Valor-America's Most Decorated City." At the bottom of the signs are the words, "Heroes Above the Call-Erwin, Lawley, McLaughlin." Leeds (Ala.) Memorial Park features three monuments, each bearing a bronze plaque inscribed with the Medal of Honor citation for its three war heroes. Signs leading into Leeds boast the city's designation as "America's Most Decorated City." According to philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson, "The true test of a civilization is not the census, nor...