Posted on 09/06/2025 12:19:37 PM PDT by AirForceVet1988
The alumni association at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point has canceled an award ceremony for actor and veterans advocate Tom Hanks, citing a desire for the Army service academy to focus on preparing future officers for war after several political controversies involving the Trump administration shook the institution this year.
Retired Army Col. Mark Bieger, president and chief executive officer of the West Point Association of Graduates, disclosed the decision in an email to faculty circulated Friday. A copy of Bieger’s message was reviewed and verified by The Washington Post.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Does there have to be politics in everything? So what if Hanks voted for Biden!
What has Hanks done for the Army?
Hanks is a scoundrel. Lots of whispers about that guy.
He’s a dick.
http://www.unilad.com/celebrity/news/tom-hanks-response-snl-donald-trump-skit-259905-20250218
We’d have to have dinosaurs come down in red capes from spaceships before I’d let Hanks address the cadets at West Point.
Hanks, 69, was to receive the prestigious Sylvanus Thayer Award, which recognizes an “outstanding citizen” who did not attend West Point and has a distinguished record of service that exemplifies the academy’s ideals: “Duty, Honor, Country.” A ceremony and parade were scheduled for Sept. 25.
Bieger wrote that the alumni association, in coordination with the academy, “will not be holding the Thayer Award ceremony” as originally scheduled and apologized for the cancellation. The email did not say whether Hanks’s award has been revoked or if it will be presented in some other format.
“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,” wrote Bieger, who earned a Silver Star for combat valor in Iraq.
Bieger did not respond to requests for comment. Officials with West Point referred questions to the alumni association. A spokesperson for Hanks could not be reached for comment.
The decision marks a dramatic shift from June, when the association announced Hanks as its 2025 Thayer recipient. The alumni group cited his work acting in several movies portraying U.S. service members, including “Saving Private Ryan,” “Forrest Gump” and “Greyhound.” It also credited his producing of “Band of Brothers” and “The Pacific,” both World War II-themed miniseries, and his extensive advocacy for veterans.
Hanks, the announcement noted, was a leading proponent for creation of the World War II Memorial in D.C.; supported efforts to build a national memorial for President Dwight D. Eisenhower, a celebrated Army general before entering politics; and served as national chairman for a massive fundraising campaign to establish what is now the National WWII Museum in New Orleans.
“Tom Hanks has done more for the positive portrayal of the American service member, more for the caring of the American veteran, their caregivers and their family, and more for the American space program and all branches of government than many other Americans,” Robert McDonald, a former secretary of veterans affairs and the alumni association’s board chairman, said in the June announcement.
You don’t get placed in high budget movies because you are a great actor...you know someone or you did something...
I’m sure the cadets are happy that the parade has been cancelled. I hated those when I was on active duty.
He never went to West Point....’nuff said.
Good! 👍I don’t like Tom Hanks, his squishy morals, his politics, or the company he keeps.
Ummm, that is the purpose of the award, to honor those who didn't go to West Point.
That’s why I don’t know why it even exists.
LOL, I hear you. I’m not a West Pointer, though I know several ring knockers that I served with on active duty. Most were good fellows.
I remember that one now. Typical Hollywood liberal.
West Point is Unique.
'Cuz he made war movies and supported monuments?? So did millions of others.
I’m glad Hanks supports veterans, but he has a sordid side to him. I wish I hadn’t watched a video clip recorded with him and others on the set of the television show Bosom Buddies. Hanks saw a camera pointed at him so he began to masturbate and make faces at the camera.
He has been accused, but not convicted, of rape. When those accusations were talked about, he appeared in a photo with Oprah Winfrey (who is also connected to rapist John of God) and one other hollyweird woman. They stood on either side of him and he looked forlorn with tape over his mouth. Apparently this was his way of saying, without saying, that his lawyer advised him not to address the accusations.
I can’t understand his creepy role fawning over a little girl dressed in makeup participating in beauty pageants. Complete CRINGE!
I have heard more about him than I care to, and I no longer respect him or consider him the paragon he pretends to be. That is his true ‘acting’ job.
The military would regret it had they not withdrawn their award ceremony. Basically, Hanks is of the Hollyweird set, but has a nicer veneer than most.
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