Actor Tom Hanks will no longer be honored by the alumni association of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. The decision marks a clear shift back toward the Academy’s primary purpose: training warriors, not showcasing celebrities with political baggage.
According to the Washington Post, retired Army Col. Mark Bieger, president and chief executive officer of the West Point Association of Graduates, announced the change in an email to faculty circulated Friday. A copy of Bieger’s note, reviewed and verified by the outlet, confirmed that Hanks, 69, will no longer receive the prestigious Sylvanus Thayer Award, traditionally given to an “outstanding citizen.”
Bieger explained the alumni association, in coordination with the academy, “will not be holding the Thayer Award ceremony” as originally scheduled and apologized for the cancellation. He did not clarify whether Hanks’s award has been fully revoked or simply postponed.
In the same message, Bieger, who earned a Silver Star for valor in Iraq, underscored the Academy’s priorities: “This decision allows the Academy to continue its focus on its core mission of preparing cadets to lead, fight, and win as officers in the world’s most lethal force, the United States Army.”
That mission-first clarity stands in sharp contrast to recent years, when under President Joe Biden’s administration West Point flirted with “woke” programming and identity politics. President Donald Trump, by comparison, reminded cadets at May’s commencement of their higher calling. “Every cadet on the field before me should savor this morning because this is a day that you will never, ever forget,” Trump said, praising them as “the brightest minds,” with “the bravest hearts and the noblest souls.” His return to West Point—after also speaking in 2020—was a sign of strong support for the Academy’s warrior ethos.
Hanks, meanwhile, has long made his disdain for conservatives and Trump supporters known. As recently as last February, he mocked Middle America on Saturday Night Live’s 50th anniversary, portraying a “racist Trump supporter” and reducing tens of millions of voters to stereotypes of ignorance and bigotry. During the 2024 election cycle, he told CNN, “I think there’s always a reason to be worried about the short-term,” when asked about another Trump presidency, dismissing the concerns of those outside his Hollywood bubble.
It’s not hard to see why West Point alumni and leaders decided now was not the time to roll out honors for a celebrity who openly belittles the very values many cadets and their families hold dear. The Sylvanus Thayer Award has long symbolized honor, duty, and respect for country. Choosing to forgo honoring Hanks sends a quiet but powerful message: the Academy’s loyalty is to its mission and its soldiers, not Hollywood elites.
At a moment when America’s military readiness faces real threats abroad, West Point’s decision to sideline political pageantry in favor of discipline, strength, and tradition could not be more timely.
