By Diana Nerozzi | New York Post
Alumni at West Point’s US Military Academy abruptly canceled an upcoming award ceremony for actor and veterans advocate Tom Hanks – a long time backer of Democratic candidates and causes, who was roasted this year for his portrayal of a President Trump supporter as a racist dope.
“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,” read an email dispatched Friday by Retired Army Col. Mark Bieger to alumni, per The Washington Post.
Hanks was scheduled to be honored at the famed military institution on Sept. 25 with the Sylvanus Thayer Award, dedicated to recognizing an “outstanding citizen” who did not attend West Point, but still exemplifies the academy’s ideals of “Duty, Honor, Country.”
The email did not state whether Hanks would still be receiving the award at a different time, or whether it had been revoked, the outlet reported.
The ceremony was to be accompanied by a parade held at West Point, attended by the entire Corps of Cadets. The Sylvanus Thayer Award is the closest equivalent to an honorary degree from West Point and is named after Colonel Sylvanus Thayer, who was superintendent of the school from 1817 to 1833.
Hanks, 69, has a history of making anti-Trump comments and a track record of donating thousands to Democrats, including former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden, presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris.
He’s also sent money to state Democratic parties across the country and sent cash to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and California Sen. Adam Schiff, donation records show.
The “Forrest Gump” actor infamously portrayed supporters of President Trump as a racist in a skit on the “Saturday Night Live” 50th anniversary special, in February, playing a character hesitant to shake a black man’s hand.
“Thank you, my brother,” Hanks said, finally accepting to shake the black character’s hand, while playing a character donning a MAGA shirt on the parody game “Black Jeopardy.”
“Now maybe I’ll start a show for you to come on and we’ll call it white Jeopardy,” Hanks said in the skit.
Asked on CNN last year if he worried about the country’s “commitment to democracy and freedom” if Trump was reelected, Hanks said. “I think there’s always reason to be worried about the short term.”
“But I look at the longer term of what happened I think there’s an ongoing — look, our Constitution says, ‘We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union,’ — that journey to a more perfect union has missteps in it,” he continued.
In 2021 Hanks hosted Biden’s prime-time TV special.
“This day is about witnessing the permanence of our American ideal,” Hanks said during the Biden show, which commemorated the president’s inauguration.
And in 2022, the “Saving Private Ryan” actor narrated a video in 2022 of the Biden administration’s accomplishments in its first year, insisting the country is “stronger than we were a year ago today.”
Bieger’s email was sent the same day Trump renamed the Department of Defense the Department of War telling reporters that he thinks it “sends a message of victory.”
“It’s a very important change because it’s an attitude,” he said of the move away from the word “defense.”
The Department of War was originally renamed in 1947 after WWII to be the Department of Defense.
Hanks supports veterans through the Elizabeth Dole foundation, in which he uses his fame to bring attention to America’s 14.3 million military and veteran caregivers.
West Point and a spokesperson for Hanks did not immediately respond to inquiries from The Post, while the West Point Association of Graduates could not be reached for comment.
The White House also didn’t respond for comment.
First published on New York Post (over 1.4K comments on article)
https://www.westpointaog.org/news/news-room/?category=thayer-award
Tom Hanks to Receive Thayer Award (West Point)
West Point, NY: The West Point Association of Graduates (WPAOG) is pleased to announce that actor/writer/director/producer and philanthropist Tom Hanks will receive the 2025 Sylvanus Thayer Award, which has been given annually since 1958 to an outstanding citizen of the United States whose service and accomplishments in the national interest exemplify personal devotion to the ideals expressed in West Point’s motto: “Duty, Honor, Country.” The award will be presented on September 25, 2025, during ceremonies hosted by the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
“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,” says the Honorable Robert A. McDonald, Class of 1975, WPAOG Board Chairman.
“To have my first ever visit to the Academy be to accept such an honor as the Thayer Award is simply astounding. West Point’s legacy of leadership, character, and service to the nation is a powerful example for all Americans. To be recognized by an institution whose graduates have shaped our country’s history through selfless service is both humbling and meaningful,” says Hanks.
Much of Hanks’ five-decade career reflects his support of veterans, the military, and America’s space program. In 1999, Hanks joined Senator Bob Dole, a 2004 Thayer Award recipient, as national spokesperson for the World War II Memorial in Washington, DC. Continuing his commitment to honor those who serve, in 2015, the actor lent his support to Dole’s fundraiser to create the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial in Washington, DC. He has also served as national chairperson of the D-Day Museum Capital Campaign.
In 2017, the Elizabeth Dole Foundation named its Caregiver Champion Award, honoring the extraordinary support of military caregivers and their veterans, after Hanks. Senator Elizabeth Dole, the 2023 Thayer Award recipient, tapped Hanks to chair the foundation’s Hidden Heroes campaign.
“He certainly lives up to the criteria of ‘a great American,’” Dole says.
Hanks earned his first Oscar nomination for “Best Actor” in 1988 for Big, and back-to-back Oscars for leading roles in Philadelphia and Forrest Gump. In 1995, Hanks starred in Apollo 13. In 1998, Hanks starred as Army Captain John H. Miller in Saving Private Ryan, which earned praise, notably from the World War II veteran community, for its realistic depictions of combat. For his portrayal of a World War II Army Ranger company commander, Hanks was inducted as an Honorary Member into the U.S. Army’s Ranger Hall of Fame. He executive-produced the miniseries Band of Brothers in 2001, The Pacific in 2010, and Masters of the Air in 2024. He also wrote and starred in Greyhound, a 2020 film about the Battle of the Atlantic, in which he played a U.S. Navy commander. In recognition of his public platform bringing World War II stories to new generations, the National WWII Museum presented Hanks with its American Spirit Award in 2015. Hanks supports military personnel through the profits and initiatives of his coffee company, Hanx for the Troops, founded in 2023.
Under his Playtone banner, Hanks executive-produced and narrated the 1998 HBO miniseries From the Earth to the Moon and co-wrote and co-produced the 2005 3-D IMAX film Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon. In between these projects, Hanks received the NASA Public Service Award for his commitment to increasing public interest in space. Hanks has received the American Film Institute’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002, the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s Chaplin Award in 2009, a Kennedy Center Honor in 2014, France’s Legion D’Honneur Award in 2016, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom—the United States’ highest civilian honor—in 2016 for his meritorious contribution to American culture. Hanks and his wife of 35 years, Rita Wilson, also support health-related charities including the Children’s Health Fund, Women’s Cancer Research Fund, and the Elizabeth Glazer Pediatric AIDS Foundation.
About West Point
The U.S. Military Academy at West Point is a four-year, co-educational, federal service academy located 50 miles north of New York City. It was founded in 1802 as America’s first college of engineering and continues today as the world’s premier leader-development institution, consistently ranked among top colleges in the country. Its mission remains constant—to build, educate, train, and inspire the Corps of Cadets to be commissioned leaders of character committed to the Army Values and ready for a lifetime of service to the Army and Nation. Visit www.WestPoint.edu.
Thayer Award
Since 1958, the West Point Association of Graduates has presented the SYLVANUS THAYER AWARD to an outstanding citizen of the United States whose service and accomplishments in the national interest exemplify personal devotion to the ideals expressed in the West Point motto, “DUTY, HONOR, COUNTRY.” The Sylvanus Thayer Award is funded by a generous endowment from E. Doug Kenna ’45 and his wife, Jean. Learn More
Great to see @SecArmy holding the line for @realDonaldTrump to make our Military strong again. West Point should be focused on training the next generation of war fighters, not celebrating woke leftwing celebrities with awards!!!https://t.co/sHPKenyICb
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) September 6, 2025
Tom Hanks may have played heroes, but his remarks mocking American troops as ‘racist killers’ made him unworthy of West Point’s honor. Mustering hiatus for political virtue-signaling doesn’t merit the Thayer Award.https://t.co/DVvXGOfaZ0
— American Thinker (@AmericanThinker) September 8, 2025
Congressman Keith Self, West Point Class of 1975: Barack Obama Does Not Embody Duty, Honor, Country
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