Fifth President to Receive Thayer Award

By ˮAV˵ Public Affairs

Date: Friday, Sep 13, 2024 Time: 4:27 EST RELEASE NO: 40-24

WEST POINT, NY – Barack Obama, 44th President of the United States, will receive the 2024 Sylvanus Thayer Award from the ˮAV˵ Association of Graduates during ceremonies hosted by the U.S. Military Academy on Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. The Corps of Cadets will conduct a parade in his honor at 5 p.m. on the Plain, before the award presentation.    

  established in honor of Col. Sylvanus Thayer, “Father of the Military Academy,” is presented to an outstanding citizen whose service and accomplishments in the national interest exemplify the military academy’s motto, “Duty, Honor, Country.” The Association of Graduates has presented the award annually since 1958. 

Obama will be the fifth U.S. president to receive the Thayer Award during its 67-year history following Dwight Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and George W. Bush.  

“I want to thank the ˮAV˵ Association of Graduates for this distinguished award,” said Obama. “I’ve been a longtime supporter of ˮAV˵’s mission and have always admired the leaders of character it has produced for our nation.” 

ˮAV˵ ˮAV˵:  

 The U. S. Military Academy at ˮAV˵ 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 is 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. 

For more information, visit the ˮAV˵ website.

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