Presidential Medal of Freedom

Presidential Medal of Freedom

Presented by: President Bill Clinton
August 9, 2000


President Bill Clinton awarded General Clark the Presidential Medal of Freedom in August of 2000.

The Presidential Medal of Freedom is, along with the Congressional Gold Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest civilian award.

The award is designed to recognize individuals who have made an especially meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors.

“I accept the Medal of Freedom on behalf of each man and woman serving in today’s U.S. armed forces. Their courage, and the heroism and sacrifice of millions of American veterans, ensures our freedom every day,” Clark said upon receiving this high honor.



“Wes Clark richly deserves the Medal of Freedom, not just for the outstanding job he did leading NATO in its first and only conflict, but for a lifetime of distinguished service in the United States Army and for the Department of Defense. He brings energy and imagination to foreign and security policy and will continue to serve his country with distinction” said Center for Strategic and International Studies President John Hamre, where Clark was serving as senior distinguished advisor.

Other notable recipients of this award include Martin Luther King, Jr., Norman Rockwell, T. S. Elliot, John Steinbeck, Jonas Salk, Carol Burnett, Neil Armstrong, Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, Edward R. Murrow, Rosa Parks, Bob Hope, Irving Berlin, Thurgood Marshall, Walter Cronkite, Johnny Carson, Julia Childs, Henry Kissinger, Colin Powell, and Jimmy Carter.


Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidential_Medal_of_Freedom,
http://www.medaloffreedom.com/WesleyClark.htm
AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File

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