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An award ceremony scheduled to honor “Saving Private Ryan” actor Tom Hanks has been called off by the West Point Association of Graduates, the alumni group for the U.S. Military Academy located in West Point, New York, as reported by The Washington Post.
The Post conveyed on Saturday that the cancellation stemmed from the association’s desire for the academy to focus more on preparing future officers for warfare.
In an internal email distributed by West Point Association of Graduates President and CEO, retired Army Colonel Mark Bieger, the decision to cancel the event was communicated to faculty members. The Post mentioned it had acquired a copy of this email.
Hanks would have been awarded the Sylvanus Thayer Award, according to the Post.
According to the West Point Association of Graduates website, the accolade is meant for “an outstanding citizen of the United States whose service and achievements in the national interest embody personal commitment to the values reflected in the West Point motto, ‘Duty, Honor, Country.’”
There is still uncertainty about whether Hanks, who has appeared in numerous films honoring U.S. veterans of international conflicts and played a significant role in the establishment of the World War II memorial at the National Mall, will receive the award.
Hanks has previously spoken against Trump, remarking in June 2024 that Trump’s re-election could suggest the U.S.’s “path to a more perfect union still contains errors.”
“I think there’s always reason to be worried about the short term,” Hanks told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour when questioned if he worries about the U.S’s “commitment to democracy and freedom” if Trump won later that year.
“But I look at the longer term of what happened I think there’s an ongoing look, our Constitution says, ‘We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union,’ that journey to a more perfect union has missteps in it,” Hanks added.
The Hill has reached out to the West Point Association of Graduates and a representative for Hanks for comment.
