Robert M. Gates Dr. Robert M. Gates served as U.S.
Secretary of Defense from December 2006 to July 2011. Dr. Gates was the only
Secretary of Defense in U.S. history to be asked to remain in that office by a
newly elected President. President Barack Obama was the eighth president Dr.
Gates served. In 1967 he was commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air
Force and served as an intelligence officer at Whiteman Air Force Base in
Missouri.
2010 Recipients
George H. W. Bush From his time as a decorated Navy pilot to
his years in the White House as the 41st President of the United States,
President George Herbert Walker Bush has led a life marked by a profound
commitment to serving others. As President, he upheld the American value of
liberty during a time of renewal and promise. As a private citizen, he has
united Americans in times of crisis, lending his tireless efforts to men and
women whose lives have been upended by disaster. Over the arc of his life,
President Bush has served our nation as a tremendous force for good, and we
proudly salute him for his unwavering devotion to our country and our world.
Angela Merkel Angela Merkel is the
Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany. She is the first woman and first
East German to serve as Chancellor of a unified Germany, which this year marks
its 20th anniversary. Her political career began when she joined the new
Democratic Awakening party in 1989 after the fall of the Berlin Wall. In 1990,
as West and East Germany merged into one reunited country, her party joined with
the Christian Democratic Union, and she was elected to the German parliament.
She has been chairman of the CDU since April 2000 and was recently reelected to
another term.
John R. Lewis
From his activism in the civil rights movement to his nearly 25 years in the
House of Representatives, John R. Lewis has dedicated his life to shattering
barriers and fighting injustice. The son of sharecroppers from Alabama, he rose
with courage, fortitude and purpose to organize the first student sit-ins and
the earliest freedom rides. The youngest speaker at the 1963 March on
Washington, a fearless advocate and a distinguished member of Congress, John
Lewis has earned our lasting gratitude for a lifetime dedicated to the pursuit
of equality and justice for all.
John H.
Adams At a time when contaminated waterways and polluted air
threatened too many of our communities, John H. Adams co-founded the Natural
Resources Defense Council to encourage responsible stewardship of our natural
resources. A staunch defender of the wonders of our planet, he served as
executive director and, later, as president of the NRDC, challenging Americans
to live up to our responsibilities to leave something better to our children
with an urgency matched by few others. John Adams' decades-long commitment to
safeguarding the Earth has left our air purer, our water cleaner and our planet
healthier for generations to come.
Dr. Maya
Angelou Out of a youth marked by pain and injustice, Dr. Maya
Angelou rose with an unbending determination to fight for civil rights and
inspire every one of us to recognize and embrace the possibility and potential
we each hold. With her soaring poetry, towering prose and mastery of a range of
art forms, Dr. Angelou has spoken to the conscience of our nation. Her
soul-stirring words have taught us how to reach across division and honor the
beauty of our world.
Warren E. Buffett
As a world-renowned investor and philanthropist, Warren E. Buffett's business
acumen is matched only by his dedication to improving the lives of others. He is
a co-founder of The Giving Pledge, an organization that encourages wealthy
Americans to donate at least 50 percent of their wealth to philanthropic causes.
Warren Buffett's example of generosity and compassion has shown us the power of
one individual's determination and inspired countless women and men to help make
our world a brighter place.
Jasper Johns
Bold and iconic, the work of Jasper Johns has left lasting impressions on
countless Americans. With nontraditional materials and methods, he has explored
themes of identity, perception, and patriotism. By asking us to reexamine the
familiar, his work has sparked the minds of creative thinkers around the world.
Jasper Johns' innovative creations helped shape the pop, minimal and conceptual
art movements, and the United States honors him for his profound influence on
generations of artists.
Gerda Weissmann
Klein Gerda Weissmann Klein's life is a testament to the
tenacity of the human spirit. A Holocaust survivor, she was separated from her
parents and sent to a series of Nazi labor camps. In 1945, she was one of a few
survivors among those forced to undergo a 350-mile death march to avoid the
progress of liberating Allied forces. From tragedy to triumph, she and her
husband proudly started the Gerda and Kurt Klein Foundation to promote
tolerance, respect and empowerment of students throughout the world. By sharing
her stories and encouraging others to see themselves in one another, Gerda Klein
has helped to advance understanding among all people.
Dr. Thomas Emmett Little Dr. Thomas Emmett Little was an
optometrist who devoted his life and skills to those in need. Starting in the
1970s, Dr. Little and his wife lived largely in Afghanistan in order to provide
vision care to the people of that nation. Even as they dedicated their lives to
healing others, Dr. Little and nine of his team members were murdered in
Afghanistan in 2010. Our nation mourns the loss of these humanitarians who paid
the ultimate price in pursuit of their ideals, and we look to Dr. Little's
example of generosity and goodwill so we can better know the meaning of
sacrifice and the necessity of peace.
Yo-Yo
Ma Recognized as one of the world's greatest musicians, Yo-Yo
Ma's talents know no boundaries of genre or culture. Since performing at the
White House for President Kennedy at the age of seven, he has recorded more than
75 albums, won more than a dozen Grammy awards and established himself as one of
our nation's most acclaimed and respected artists. His music has bound us
together and captured our imagination, and the United States proudly honors this
prolific cellist and ambassador for the arts.
Sylvia Mendez Sylvia Mendez was thrust to
the forefront of the civil rights movement when she was just a child. Denied
entry to the Westminster School because of her Mexican heritage, she sought
justice and her subsequent legal case, Mendez v. Westminster, effectively ended
segregation as a matter of law in California. The arguments in that case
catalyzed the desegregation of our schools and prevailed in the landmark case
Brown v. Board of Education, forever changing our nation. Today, Sylvia Mendez
continues to share her remarkable story and advocate for excellence and equality
in classrooms across America.
Stanley F.
Musial Stanley F. Musial represents the best of American
sports icons. His name is synonymous with the St. Louis Cardinals, the team on
which he played for his entire 22-year career. A perennial all-star and
three-time Most Valuable Player, he won accolades as a player and championships
as a teammate. Nicknamed “Stan the Man” Musial, he played the game with
unrivaled passion, and his humility and decency remain a model for all young
Americans to this day.
William F. Russell
Basketball was a different sport before William F. Russell donned a uniform.
With unmatched skill, he led the Boston Celtics to an unparalleled string of
titles and earned the distinction of being named the National Basketball
Association's Most Valuable Player five times. He broke down barriers on and off
the court, becoming basketball's first African American coach and serving as a
passionate advocate for civil rights. Bill Russell can reflect with pride on
helping change the culture of a sport and the course of our nation.
Jean Kennedy Smith The eighth of nine
children to Joseph and Rose Kennedy, Jean Kennedy Smith joined the family
business of helping her fellow Americans in improving our world. In 1974, she
founded Very Special Arts, a nonprofit organization that promotes the artistic
talents of young people living with disabilities. On the international stage,
Jean Kennedy Smith played a pivotal role in the peace process in Northern
Ireland while serving as United States ambassador to Ireland. With intelligence,
compassion, creativity and grace, Jean Kennedy Smith has contributed volumes to
her family's outstanding legacy of service to our country.
John J. Sweeney As a champion for the
American worker, John J. Sweeney has strengthened our families, our economy and
our country. The son of Irish immigrants, he worked his way up in the labor
movement, serving as president of the Service Employees International Union and
president of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial
Organizations, all the while reaffirming our nation's commitment to rewarding
the enduring values of hard work and responsibility. The United States proudly
honors John Sweeney for a lifetime of courageous service on behalf of working
people.
