President Obama Gives Medal of Freedom Awards

Presidential Medal of Freedom

Today, in a televised ceremony, President Barack Obama gave 15 individuals the highest award which a civilian can receive from the U.S. government. The award is known as the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

The medal is typically given to people who have stood out for their actions which dramatically contribute to the peace, security and wellbeing of the United States or humanity, or otherwise significantly enhance our culture. The individuals being recognized are “some of the most extraordinary people in America and around the world, (they) reveal the best of who we are and of who we aspire to be,” said the President.

One of the 15 medals was awarded posthumously to Dr. Tom Little who was an optometrist performing humanitarian work in Afghanistan when he was killed by the Taliban.

Other recipients which made up a widely diverse group were, George H.W. Bush, the 41st president, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, business leader and philanthropist Warren Buffett, Cellist Yo-Yo Ma, poet Maya Angelou, painter, sculptor and printmaker Jasper Johns, Congressman John Lewis and Sylvia Mendez, NBA legend Bill Russell and Hall of Fame baseball player Stan ‘The Man’ Musial, Gerda Weissmann Klein, Jewish Holocaust survivor and author, John H. Adams, Natural Resources Defense Council co-founder, John J. Sweeney, president emeritus of the AFL-CIO, and Jean Kennedy Smith, founder of VSA promoting artistic talents individuals with disabilities.