An alumni group at the US Military Academy at West Point cancelled an event that would have honoured actor Tom Hanks with one of its most prestigious awards, saying that cancelling it would allow the academy to focus on preparing its cadets for the future, according to an email sent by the group’s president.
Hanks, 69, was set to receive the Sylvanus Thayer Award, which is given annually by the West Point Association of Graduates to an American citizen who exemplifies the West Point motto, “Duty, honour, country”.
The award is named in honour of Sylvanus Thayer, nicknamed the Father of the Military Academy.
The group’s president, Mark Bieger, who is a retired colonel in the US Army, said in an email on Friday that the academy “will not be holding the Thayer Award ceremony”, which had been scheduled for September 25.
The decision was first reported by The Washington Post.
“This decision allows the Academy to continue its focus on its core mission of preparing cadets to lead, fight, and win as officers in the world’s most lethal force, the United States Army,” Bieger wrote in the email.
Former recipients of the award include President Dwight Eisenhower, President Ronald Reagan, Neil Armstrong, Gen. Colin Powell, Senator Elizabeth Dole of North Carolina, Justice Sandra Day O’Connor and the actor Gary Sinise.
The alumni group announced in June that Hanks would receive the Thayer Award, citing a career that supported veterans, the military and America’s space programme.
The group highlighted the actor’s roles in films like Forrest Gump, Apollo 13, Saving Private Ryan, as well as his work on Band of Brothers, The Pacific, Masters of the Air and Greyhound.
In addition to his work in Hollywood, Hanks became a spokesman for the World War II Memorial in Washington. He also helped to raise money for the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial in Washington, and served as national chairman of the D-Day Museum Capital Campaign.
In a statement, Hanks said it was “simply astounding” that his “first ever visit” to the academy would be to accept the Thayer Award. “To be recognised by an institution whose graduates have shaped our country’s history through selfless service is both humbling and meaningful,” the Cast Away actor said.
Trump backs academy
President Donald Trump supported West Point’s decision. He said in a post on Truth Social: “Our great West Point (getting greater all the time!) has smartly cancelled the Award Ceremony for actor Tom Hanks. Important move! We don’t need destructive, WOKE recipients getting our cherished American Awards!!! Hopefully the Academy Awards, and other Fake Award Shows, will review their Standards and Practices in the name of Fairness and Justice.
Watch their DEAD RATINGS SURGE!”
New York Times News Service