Bush Awards Presidential Medal of Freedom to 10
Stephen Crowley/The New York Times
By DAVID STOUT
Published: December 16, 2006
WASHINGTON, Dec. 15 — Ten recipients from widely different backgrounds were awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian award, by President Bush on Friday in a White House ceremony of solemnity and humor.
“The medal recognizes high achievement in public service, science, the arts, education, athletics and other fields,” Mr. Bush said, calling the recipients “some of the finest citizens the Almighty’s ever produced.”
These are the recipients:
Ruth Johnson Colvin, founder of Literacy Volunteers of America.
Norman C. Francis, president of Xavier University of Louisiana and former head of the United Negro College Fund.
Paul Johnson, historian and journalist.
Riley (B.B.) King, musician.
Joshua Lederberg, Nobel laureate for research in bacterial genetics.
David McCullough, historian and biographer.
Norman Y. Mineta, former representative and secretary of transportation and commerce.
John (Buck) O’Neil, player and manager in the Negro League and first black coach in the Major Leagues.
William Safire, former Op-Ed columnist of The New York Times.
Natan Sharansky, Israeli politician and former imprisoned Soviet dissident.
Mr. Bush recalled that Mr. Safire had been a speechwriter for President Richard M. Nixon, who once introduced him saying: “This is Safire, absolutely trustworthy. But watch what you say. He’s a writer.”
Mr. Bush praised Mr. Mineta as a man who never lost his faith in the United States despite being interned with his parents in a camp for Japanese-Americans in World War II.
Mr. McCullough won praise for reminding Americans that “the laws we live by, the freedoms we enjoy, the institutions that we take for granted are all the work of other people who went before us.”
Warren O’Neil accepted the medal on behalf of his brother Buck, who died on Oct. 6. “They wisely pitched around him,” Mr. Bush said. “He drew a walk at the age of 94 years old.”
Stephen Crowley/The New York Times
By DAVID STOUT
Published: December 16, 2006
WASHINGTON, Dec. 15 — Ten recipients from widely different backgrounds were awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian award, by President Bush on Friday in a White House ceremony of solemnity and humor.
“The medal recognizes high achievement in public service, science, the arts, education, athletics and other fields,” Mr. Bush said, calling the recipients “some of the finest citizens the Almighty’s ever produced.”
These are the recipients:
Ruth Johnson Colvin, founder of Literacy Volunteers of America.
Norman C. Francis, president of Xavier University of Louisiana and former head of the United Negro College Fund.
Paul Johnson, historian and journalist.
Riley (B.B.) King, musician.
Joshua Lederberg, Nobel laureate for research in bacterial genetics.
David McCullough, historian and biographer.
Norman Y. Mineta, former representative and secretary of transportation and commerce.
John (Buck) O’Neil, player and manager in the Negro League and first black coach in the Major Leagues.
William Safire, former Op-Ed columnist of The New York Times.
Natan Sharansky, Israeli politician and former imprisoned Soviet dissident.
Mr. Bush recalled that Mr. Safire had been a speechwriter for President Richard M. Nixon, who once introduced him saying: “This is Safire, absolutely trustworthy. But watch what you say. He’s a writer.”
Mr. Bush praised Mr. Mineta as a man who never lost his faith in the United States despite being interned with his parents in a camp for Japanese-Americans in World War II.
Mr. McCullough won praise for reminding Americans that “the laws we live by, the freedoms we enjoy, the institutions that we take for granted are all the work of other people who went before us.”
Warren O’Neil accepted the medal on behalf of his brother Buck, who died on Oct. 6. “They wisely pitched around him,” Mr. Bush said. “He drew a walk at the age of 94 years old.”
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