Bieger wrote that the alumni association, in coordination with the academy, “will not be holding the Thayer Award ceremony” as originally scheduled and apologized for the cancellation. The email did not say whether Hanks’s award has been revoked or if it will be presented in some other format.
“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,” wrote Bieger, who earned a Silver Star for combat valor in Iraq.
The decision marks a dramatic shift from June, when the association announced Hanks as its 2025 Thayer recipient. The alumni group cited his work acting in several movies portraying U.S. service members, including “Saving Private Ryan,” “Forrest Gump” and “Greyhound.” It also credited his producing of “Band of Brothers” and “The Pacific,” both World War II-themed miniseries, and his extensive advocacy for veterans.
Hanks, the announcement noted, was a leading proponent for creation of the World War II Memorial in D.C.; supported efforts to build a national memorial for President Dwight D. Eisenhower, a celebrated Army general before entering politics; and served as national chairman for a massive fundraising campaign to establish what is now the National WWII Museum in New Orleans.
“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 the American space program and all branches of government than many other Americans,” Robert McDonald, a former secretary of veterans affairs and the alumni association’s board chairman, said in the June announcement.
Hanks, in the same announcement, called it “humbling and meaningful” to be recognized by the institution. Other recipients have included presidents, defense secretaries, diplomats, senators and journalists.
But the planned celebration appears to have run headlong into Trump-era politics.
In 2020, Hanks participated in a campaign fundraiser with Joe Biden, who went on to defeat Donald Trump for the presidency that year in an election marred by Trump’s baseless claims of election fraud. Months later, after a pro-Trump mob smashed its way into Congress on Jan. 6, 2021, in a failed attempt to stop the certification of Biden’s victory, Hanks hosted a televised event called “Celebrating America” that was organized by the Biden Inaugural Committee. Hanks noted then that the United States had seen “deep divisions and a troubling rancor” over recent years.
Hanks assisted Biden again one year into his presidency, narrating a video touting the value of perseverance as the U.S. economy rallied and the covid-19 pandemic subsided. “We are stronger than we were a year ago today,” Hanks said then.
Hanks received the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his acting and advocacy from President Barack Obama in 2016. He also has poked fun at Trump supporters while portraying one in “Saturday Night Live” skits, once in 2016 and again in 2025.
The award ceremony’s cancellation follows a number of changes at West Point, long considered one of the most prestigious universities in the country, and other military services academies since Trump’s return to power.
In January, Trump issued an executive order calling for a rollback of programs promoting diversity, equity and inclusion in the armed forces, saying leaders, curriculums and instructors at all of the U.S. service academies should be scrutinized. Other changes followed, including the cancellation of some classes and the disbanding of numerous “affinity groups” for cadets, such as the National Society of Black Engineers and Latin Cultural Club.
