WEST POINT ASSOCIATION OF GRADUATES ANNOUNCES 2025 RECIPIENT OF THE SYLVANUS THAYER AWARD
“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 all branches of government than many other Americans,” says the Honorable Robert A. McDonald, Class of 1975, WPAOG Board Chairman.
After back-to-back “Best Actor” Oscars for his leading roles in Philadelphia and Forrest Gump, Hanks starred as Army Captain John H. Miller in Saving Private Ryan in 1998, which earned praise, notably from the World War II veteran community, for its realistic depictions of combat. For his portrayal of a World War II Army Ranger company commander, Hanks was inducted as an Honorary Member into the U.S. Army’s Ranger Hall of Fame. In 1999, Hanks joined Senator Bob Dole as a national spokesperson for the World War II Memorial in Washington, DC and later lent his support to Dole’s fundraiser to create the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial. Hanks executive-produced the miniseries Band of Brothers in 2001, The Pacific in 2010, and Masters of the Air in 2024. He also wrote and starred in Greyhound, a 2020 film about the Battle of the Atlantic, in which he played a U.S. Navy commander. In recognition of his public platform bringing World War II stories to new generations, the National WWII Museum presented Hanks with its American Spirit Award in 2015. Today, Hanks supports military personnel through the profits and initiatives of his coffee company, Hanx for the Troops, which was founded in 2023.
Hanks has received the American Film Institute’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002, the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s Chaplin Award in 2009, a Kennedy Center Honor in 2014, France’s Legion D’Honneur Award in 2016, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom—the United States’ highest civilian honor—in 2016 for his meritorious contribution to American culture.
About the Sylvanus Thayer Award
The Thayer Award recipient is selected through a rigorous nomination process administered by alumni of the United States Military Academy at West Point, America’s oldest federal service academy. The Award is named for Sylvanus Thayer (Class of 1808), Superintendent of the United States Military Academy at West Point from 1817 to 1833. Thayer is venerated as the “Father of the Military Academy” for improving West Point’s academic standards, instilling military discipline and emphasizing honorable conduct. Thayer’s statue stands today in a place of honor on the historic Plain at West Point, along with statues commemorating Washington, Eisenhower (Class of 1915), MacArthur (1903) and Patton (1909). For a full list of previous Thayer Award recipients, visit https://www.westpointaog.org/ThayerAwardrecipients.
About the West Point Association of Graduates
WPAOG is among America’s oldest educational alumni associations. Founded in 1869, WPAOG is a non-profit corporation whose Mission is to Serve West Point and the Long Gray Line, and Vision is to be the most highly connected alumni body in the world by serving and supporting more than 56,000 living West Point graduates. Visit www.WestPointAOG.org.
About West Point
The U.S. Military Academy at West Point is a four-year, co-educational, federal service academy located 50 miles north of New York City. It was founded in 1802 as America’s first college of engineering and continues today as the world’s premier leader-development institution, consistently ranked among top colleges in the country. Its mission remains constant—to build, educate, train, and inspire the Corps of Cadets to be commissioned leaders of character committed to the Army Values and ready for a lifetime of service to the Army and Nation. Visit www.WestPoint.edu.
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Media Contact: Samantha Soper samantha.soper@wpaog.org
Samantha Soper
WPAOG
samantha.soper@wpaog.org
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