The distinctive star of the medal was replaced with a paw print.

Trump and the Pentagon declined to release the dog's name, but the canine has become a social media sensation after Trump tweeted a photo Monday. Since then, the dog has been the feature of countless memes.

A White House spokesman declined to comment. McCloughan, 73, could not be reached for comment. McCloughan saw the photo as an attempt to herald the dog's actions in combat, he told The New York Times.

"This recognises the dog is part of that team of brave people," he said. McCloughan said he worked with military dogs in Vietnam, where they helped scouts detect enemy positions.

McCloughan was 23 in May 1969 when his unit was caught in a fierce firefight in Tam Ky. He was raked by shrapnel from a rocket-propelled grenade while assessing other soldiers for their injuries, but despite his wounds, McCloughan repeatedly braved enemy fire to carry the injured to safety.

A fellow medic was killed the next day, he later recounted.

"I got him, got his body, and now I'm the only medic," McCloughan said in 2017.

"So I downed my pack near a tree and got all of my pressure bandages out of there and put them in all of the pockets that I had. . . . And now I start going to get men."

McCloughan helped evacuate several other soldiers over three hellish days in combat.

He was the first to receive the Medal of Honour from Trump.

The altered photo was tweeted by Trump about three hours before he awarded the Medal of Honour to Army Master Sergeant Matthew Williams for bravery in Afghanistan.

Trump basked in the reverence of the award to begin the ceremony.

"Nothing like it," he said.