VOICE ONE:
President Bush recognized twelve people at a White House ceremonylast month. The twelve were officially honored with the nation’shighest civilian award. I’m Sarah Long.
VOICE TWO:
And I’m Steve Ember. We tell about the people who received thisaward — the Presidential Medal of Freedom — on the VOA SpecialEnglish program, THIS IS AMERICA.
(THEME)
VOICE ONE:
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is America’s highest governmenthonor given to civilians. It recognizes people for their specialefforts for national security, world peace, culture or other publicservice.
The Presidential Medal of Freedom was created innineteen-forty-five. President Harry Truman established the award tohonor civilians for their service during World War Two. After thewar, the medal was not given until the early nineteen-sixties. Thatis when President John F. Kennedy decided to re-start the program asa peacetime honor.
VOICE TWO:
President Kennedy was given the Presidential Medal of Freedomafter his death. Every president since then has presented the award.Recent honorees have included former President Ronald Reagan andformer German leader Helmut Kohl. American civil rights activistRosa Parks and racecar driver Richard Petty also have received themedal.
Last month, more than one-hundred people gathered in the EastRoom of the White House for the award ceremony. President Bushpresented the Presidential Medal of Freedom to eight men and onewoman. Another woman honored, Katharine Graham, died last year. Twoother honorees, Placido Domingo and Nelson Mandela, were unable toattend.
VOICE ONE:
The twelve honorees were recognized for their leadership in thearts, politics, science, business and sports. One of the honorees isHank Aaron. He is one of the most famous players in baseballhistory. He played for twenty-three years in North Americanbaseball’s Major Leagues. He holds a number of Major League records,including the most homeruns hit by any player.
As a young man, Mister Aaron played with a baseball team forAfrican Americans. Then, he joined a Major League team, theMilwaukee Braves. The Braves sent him to a small team inJacksonville, Florida. He was one of the first African Americans toplay for a professional team in the southern United States. Over theyears, Hank Aaron experienced racial hatred. Yet it did not stop himfrom becoming one of the game’s great players.
(MUSIC BRIDGE – The Cosby Show Theme)
VOICE TWO:
A famous funnyman also received the Presidential Medal ofFreedom. Bill Cosby became one of the most popular televisionperformers in the United States during the nineteen-eighties. Hisprogram, The Cosby Show, changed the way American televisionprograms showed African Americans.
Bill Cosby once said that you cannot bring racial groups togetherby joking about their differences. He wanted to talk about theirsimilarities instead. Mister Bush praised him for using the power oflaughter to heal wounds and build bridges among people.
(MUSIC BRIDGE – Placido Domingo)
VOICE ONE:
Opera singer Placido Domingo was honored for his forty-four yearsas an entertainer. He has performed in one-hundred-eighteendifferent opera parts. That is more than any other tenor in thehistory of opera performance.
Placido Domingo also has directed performances at famous operahouses like the Metropolitan in New York City. He currently servesas the artistic director of the Washington Opera and the Los AngelesOpera.
VOICE TWO:
President Bush also honored Peter Drucker, one of the world’s topexperts on operating businesses. Mister Drucker is a leadingsupporter of ideas such as privatization and giving powers from acentral leadership to local officials. Over the years, he hasadvised many governments, public service organizations andbusinesses. He currently offers advice to religious organizations.
VOICE ONE:
Newspaper publisher Katharine Graham, who died last year, alsowas honored. Missus Graham helped lead the Washington Post to itsposition as one of the country’s leading newspapers. During herleadership, the Post aggressively reported on secret documents thatdescribed American involvement in the Vietnam War. The newspaperalso investigated and reported about the break-in at the DemocraticParty’s headquarters at the Watergate building. This investigationled to the resignation of President Richard Nixon.
VOICE TWO:
Another honoree, D.A. Henderson, is best known for his work forthe World Health Organization. Between nineteen-sixty-six andnineteen-seventy-seven, Doctor Henderson led the W-H-O campaign toend the threat from the disease smallpox. He also helped establishthe W-H-O’s program to stop the spread of six major diseases. Thisprogram now provides vaccine medicines to eighty percent of theworld’s children. Currently, Doctor Henderson serves as the directorof the Johns Hopkins Center for Civilian Biodefense Studies inBaltimore, Maryland.
(MUSIC BRIDGE)
VOICE ONE:
Conservative American thinker and writer Irving Kristol alsoreceived the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Professor Kristol taughtat New York University and its Graduate School of BusinessAdministration.
Mister Kristol helped influence conservative thought in theUnited States. His thinking mixed traditional conservative ideaswith important issues in modern society. Mister Bush said IrvingKristol’s writings have helped change American politics.
VOICE TWO:
Nelson Mandela also was honored with the Presidential Medal ofFreedom. Mister Mandela led the fight to end the system of racialseparation in South Africa. The South African government jailedMister Mandela in nineteen-sixty-two. He was released innineteen-ninety. Later, Mister Mandela was elected president of theAfrican National Congress. He was honored with the Nobel Peace Prizein nineteen-ninety-three. The following year, he became SouthAfrica’s first democratically elected president.
VOICE ONE:
Inventor and businessman Gordon Moore also was honored. He helpedestablish the Intel Corporation. Intel successfully developed themicrochip, an important part in computers. Mister Moore retired fromthe company in nineteen-ninety-five. Since then, he and his wifehave become involved in activities to help others. They have giventhousands of millions of dollars to create a foundation thatsupports education, scientific research and the environment.
VOICE TWO:
Another honoree is Nancy Reagan, the wife of former PresidentRonald Reagan. During her husband’s presidency, Missus Reagantraveled around the country and urged young people to “Just Say No”to illegal drugs. In recent years, she has continued her workagainst illegal drug use. She also has increased support for aprogram that involves older adults and children with special needs.
(MUSIC BRIDGE – “Mister Rogers Neighborhood”)
VOICE ONE:
Fred Rogers produced and appeared in a popular children’stelevision show for more than thirty years. It is called “MisterRogers’ Neighborhood.” The goal of his work is to help support thehealthy emotional growth of children and their families. “The wholeidea,” he says, “is to look at the television camera and present asmuch love as you possibly could to a person who needs it.” PresidentBush said this message has won Fred Rogers a very special place inthe hearts of mothers and fathers across America.
VOICE TWO:
Another Medal of Freedom honoree, A.M. Rosenthal, worked as areporter, editor and writer for the New York Times newspaper. Hereported about the suffering of oppressed people, especiallyreligious minorities. He was honored with the Pulitzer Prize for hisreporting from Poland in nineteen-sixty. Three years later, MisterRosenthal returned to New York City to help supervise the newspaper.He supervised daily news operations of the New York Times for almostsixteen years.
At the White House ceremony, President Bush noted that eachhonoree has improved the life of America and the world. He said alltwelve have left a lasting influence of hope, strength and action.
(THEME)
VOICE ONE:
This program was written and produced by George Grow. I’m SarahLong.
VOICE TWO:
And I’m Steve Ember. Join us again next week for another reportabout life in the United States on the VOA Special English program,THIS IS AMERICA.