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BumRushDaShow

(160,871 posts) Sat Sep 6, 2025, 12:24 PM Sep 6

West Point alumni group cancels award ceremony for Tom Hanks

Source: Washington Post

September 6, 2025 at 11:13 a.m. EDT

The alumni association at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point has canceled an award ceremony for actor and veterans advocate Tom Hanks, citing a desire for the Army service academy to focus on preparing future officers for war after several political controversies involving the Trump administration shook the institution this year.

Retired Army Col. Mark Bieger, president and chief executive officer of the West Point Association of Graduates, disclosed the decision in an email to faculty circulated Friday. A copy of Bieger’s message was reviewed and verified by The Washington Post.

Hanks, 69, was to receive the prestigious Sylvanus Thayer Award, which recognizes an “outstanding citizen” who did not attend West Point and has a distinguished record of service that exemplifies the academy’s ideals: “Duty, Honor, Country.” A ceremony and parade were scheduled for Sept. 25.

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 The email did not say whether Hanks’s award has been revoked or if it will be presented in some other format.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2025/09/06/tom-hanks-west-point/

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37 replies

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Highlight:

West Point alumni group cancels award ceremony for Tom Hanks (Original Post) BumRushDaShow Sep 6 OP

Hope the future officers are not as weak as the alumni. Sneederbunk Sep 6 #1

Don't you feel safe with these cowards running the military?! yardwork Sep 6 #6

Duty and honor are just too woke for this current crop Walleye Sep 6 #2

No longer the Army and Air Force. BidenRocks Sep 6 #3

The War Racket. Cha Sep 6 #17

Are these the guys the G.O.P. Draft-Dodger called "suckers and losers"? BoRaGard Sep 6 #4

Cowards. yardwork Sep 6 #5

TSF mentioned that veterans are(were) losers and suckers! bluestarone Sep 6 #7

Tom Hanks is one of the good guys, Bayard Sep 6 #8

They prefer a draft dodger who got five deferments for bone spurs Grim Chieftain Sep 6 #18

T💩p's bone spurs were FAKE, just like everything else about that mofo. OMGWTF Sep 6 #19

Yup, of course they were fake Grim Chieftain Sep 6 #20

Yes, Tom Hanks is indeed one of the good guys LetMyPeopleVote Sep 8 #37

Trump's bullshit tough guy charade really appeals to a certain type of asshole Orrex Sep 6 #9

The first question that comes to mind is... GiqueCee Sep 6 #10

He did save Pvt Ryan. Without Tom we wouldn't have Matt Damon. twodogsbarking Sep 6 #11

Everyone has to save Matt Damon underpants Sep 6 #29

I'm finding it harder and harder to trust anything from Wapo. sarchasm Sep 6 #12

I smell Trump or Hegseth... Fil1957 Sep 6 #13

Try Lysol. Bleach, maybe. Girard442 Sep 6 #14

I smell that and some QAnon freaks. underpants Sep 6 #28

Here BumRushDaShow Sep 6 #24

They are going to award it to bone spurs himself Farmer-Rick Sep 6 #15

Hanks will still get the award. They're just not giving him a dinner and parade to present him with it. SunSeeker Sep 6 #32

HOw heartbreaking for the USA... Cha Sep 6 #16

There are always a group of officers who are more worried about their career than doing the right thing LT Barclay Sep 6 #21

Kegsbreath lonely bird Sep 6 #22

Whiskey Pete is a silly man still playing with his toy soldiers in the sand. travelingthrulife Sep 7 #35

Well, they can't very well say, "We have to wait until trump croaks!" Turbineguy Sep 6 #23

I smell the putrid orange one's fingers all over this. sinkingfeeling Sep 6 #25

Ruck these people. n/t rzemanfl Sep 6 #26

How Sick is This? eringer Sep 6 #27

I guess there's little hope the military won't go full Nazi. dem4decades Sep 6 #30

trump is a thin skin idiot LetMyPeopleVote Sep 6 #31

Besides his role in 'Saving Private Ryan', A Badger Sep 7 #33

How petty. Yet these officers, who swore to protect our nation from travelingthrulife Sep 7 #34

Trump Goes After Beloved Actor Tom Hanks, Calling Him 'Destructive' And 'WOKE' LetMyPeopleVote Sep 8 #36

Sneederbunk

(16,845 posts)

1. Hope the future officers are not as weak as the alumni.

Reply to BumRushDaShow (Original post)

Sat Sep 6, 2025, 12:34 PM

Sep 6

yardwork

(68,148 posts)

6. Don't you feel safe with these cowards running the military?!

Reply to Sneederbunk (Reply #1)

Sat Sep 6, 2025, 12:49 PM

Sep 6

Walleye

(42,643 posts)

2. Duty and honor are just too woke for this current crop

Reply to BumRushDaShow (Original post)

Sat Sep 6, 2025, 12:36 PM

Sep 6

It would serve them right to actually get a real war, most of these guys have never even seen one. They would be whining about how unfair everything is. That’s not how you fight a war.

BidenRocks

(2,275 posts)

3. No longer the Army and Air Force.

Reply to BumRushDaShow (Original post)

Sat Sep 6, 2025, 12:39 PM

Sep 6

Now it's the Wehrmacht und Luftwaffe.

Sounds like victory to chump!

Cha

(314,640 posts)

17. The War Racket.

Reply to BidenRocks (Reply #3)

Sat Sep 6, 2025, 03:09 PM

Sep 6

BoRaGard

(7,586 posts)

4. Are these the guys the G.O.P. Draft-Dodger called "suckers and losers"?

Reply to BumRushDaShow (Original post)

Sat Sep 6, 2025, 12:46 PM

Sep 6

Asking for all the honorable veterans who maintain with integrity their sworn oath to the US Constitution,
and who refuse to debase themselves and disgrace their nation by submissively bending their knee to a Royal Republicon Golf Cheat, Shirker, Tyrant, and Pedo Protector.

yardwork

(68,148 posts)

5. Cowards.

Reply to BumRushDaShow (Original post)

Sat Sep 6, 2025, 12:48 PM

Sep 6

bluestarone

(20,382 posts)

7. TSF mentioned that veterans are(were) losers and suckers!

Reply to BumRushDaShow (Original post)

Sat Sep 6, 2025, 01:02 PM

Sep 6

I say their leaders (TSF and his followers) are actually the LOSERS and SUCKERS

Bayard

(27,172 posts)

8. Tom Hanks is one of the good guys,

Reply to BumRushDaShow (Original post)

Sat Sep 6, 2025, 01:17 PM

Sep 6

Rethuglicans just can't stand that.

Grim Chieftain

(649 posts)

18. They prefer a draft dodger who got five deferments for bone spurs

Reply to Bayard (Reply #8)

Sat Sep 6, 2025, 03:15 PM

Sep 6

And who called our war dead suckers and losers.

God, I loathe him.

OMGWTF

(4,909 posts)

19. T💩p's bone spurs were FAKE, just like everything else about that mofo.

Reply to Grim Chieftain (Reply #18)

Sat Sep 6, 2025, 03:20 PM

Sep 6

Grim Chieftain

(649 posts)

20. Yup, of course they were fake

Reply to OMGWTF (Reply #19)

Sat Sep 6, 2025, 03:28 PM

Sep 6

Like everything else about him.

LetMyPeopleVote

(170,353 posts)

37. Yes, Tom Hanks is indeed one of the good guys

Reply to Bayard (Reply #8)

Mon Sep 8, 2025, 11:55 AM

Sep 8

Orrex

(66,099 posts)

9. Trump's bullshit tough guy charade really appeals to a certain type of asshole

Reply to BumRushDaShow (Original post)

Sat Sep 6, 2025, 01:28 PM

Sep 6

Last edited Sat Sep 6, 2025, 07:07 PM - Edit history (1)

I’ve met a great many older vets who straight up worship Trump no matter how much he shits on veterans, service personnel, or military families.

GiqueCee

(2,854 posts)

10. The first question that comes to mind is...

Reply to BumRushDaShow (Original post)

Sat Sep 6, 2025, 01:34 PM

Sep 6

... what did Tom Hanks ever do to Trump? 'Cause you KNOW he's got his grubby little fingers in this somehow.
But then, we also know that the South End of a Northbound Yak is so petty and infantile that he hates it when someone gets an award that he hasn't got, so he probably leaned on some alumnus to squash this ceremony.
Well, being a decent person and recognizing the accomplishments of others would be considered WAY too woke for Mushroom Dick to tolerate, so we shouldn't be surprised.

twodogsbarking

(16,000 posts)

11. He did save Pvt Ryan. Without Tom we wouldn't have Matt Damon.

Reply to BumRushDaShow (Original post)

Sat Sep 6, 2025, 01:43 PM

Sep 6

underpants

(193,257 posts)

29. Everyone has to save Matt Damon

Reply to twodogsbarking (Reply #11)

Sat Sep 6, 2025, 05:02 PM

Sep 6

Pvt. Ryan had to be saved.
Will Hinting had to be saved in Goodwill Hunting
Mark Watney had to be saved in The Martian

Frankly, it would be better for everyone if Matt Damon just stayed still.

😆

Jason Bourne saves himself though

sarchasm

(1,274 posts)

12. I'm finding it harder and harder to trust anything from Wapo.

Reply to BumRushDaShow (Original post)

Sat Sep 6, 2025, 01:48 PM

Sep 6

Truly unfortunate considering this publication’s history.

Fil1957

(234 posts)

13. I smell Trump or Hegseth...

Reply to sarchasm (Reply #12)

Sat Sep 6, 2025, 02:12 PM

Sep 6

Girard442

(6,770 posts)

14. Try Lysol. Bleach, maybe.

Reply to Fil1957 (Reply #13)

Sat Sep 6, 2025, 02:46 PM

Sep 6

underpants

(193,257 posts)

28. I smell that and some QAnon freaks.

Reply to Fil1957 (Reply #13)

Sat Sep 6, 2025, 04:56 PM

Sep 6

Tom Hanks is the epicenter of the cabal according to QAnon idiots.

I think their whole thing was built on shock value. Hanks is a shocking figurehead because he appears to be such a likable guy. He also made a movie called The Man with One Red Shoe (1985). Red shoes were a huge tell to QAnon. It gets weird from there.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man_with_One_Red_Shoe

BumRushDaShow

(160,871 posts)

24. Here

Reply to sarchasm (Reply #12)

Sat Sep 6, 2025, 03:56 PM

Sep 6

FORBES - West Point Alumni Association Reportedly Canceled Ceremony Honoring Tom Hanks

VARIETY - West Point Association of Graduates Cancels Award Ceremony Intended to Honor Tom Hanks

DEADLINE - West Point Alumni Group Cancels Planned Award Ceremony For Tom Hanks Amid Trump Administration Scrutiny Of Military Academies

DAILY BEAST - West Point Abruptly Cancels Award Ceremony for Tom Hanks

Farmer-Rick

(12,080 posts)

15. They are going to award it to bone spurs himself

Reply to BumRushDaShow (Original post)

Sat Sep 6, 2025, 03:02 PM

Sep 6

Pedo Trump wants all the awards. He has absolutely no sense of duty or honor.
And country to him means a chance to steal our tax dollars.

So of course they are going to award it to pedo Trump.

SunSeeker

(56,786 posts)

32. Hanks will still get the award. They're just not giving him a dinner and parade to present him with it.

Reply to Farmer-Rick (Reply #15)

Sat Sep 6, 2025, 11:15 PM

Sep 6

A U.S. official who said he is not authorized to speak publicly on the matter confirmed the news, which was first reported in The Washington Post. The official told NPR that Hanks will still get the prestigious Sylvanus Thayer Award, and did not state why the formalities had been abandoned.

https://www.npr.org/2025/09/06/nx-s1-5532646/west-point-military-academy-alumni-group-scraps-award-celebrations-honoring-tom-hanks-sylvanus-thayer

My guess is Trump ordered West Point to not use their grounds for the ceremony, so the alumni couldn't do the parade. Retired U.S. Army brigadier general and professor emeritus of history at West Point Ty Seidule suggested it was the administration that caused the cancelation of the festivities:

In an email to NPR, retired U.S. Army brigadier general and professor emeritus of history at West Point Ty Seidule said the history of the Thayer Award has until now remained pretty uncontroversial. The ceremony is rarely canceled or postponed. Unexpected snowfall upended the celebrations for author, editor and former ambassador Clare Boothe Luce in 1979, and the events of Sept. 11, 2001 caused them to be postponed for U.S. senator Daniel Inouye, a Hawaii Democrat.

"The award isn't a heavy lift," Seidule said. "It's a parade and a dinner. Cadets love to rub elbows with some of America's greatest citizens."

Seidule said that, over the years, the award recipients have come from both sides of the political aisle and from all walks of American life. "West Point is a staunchly apolitical institution," Seibule said. "I feel for everyone at West Point trying to navigate an administration whose decisions are capricious and cruel."

Seidule said he doesn't buy the idea that Hanks' ceremony was axed in order for West Point to focus on its military goals: "West Point is capable of focusing on the Secretary of Defense priorities and still having a parade and dinner."

https://www.npr.org/2025/09/06/nx-s1-5532646/west-point-military-academy-alumni-group-scraps-award-celebrations-honoring-tom-hanks-sylvanus-thayer

Cha

(314,640 posts)

16. HOw heartbreaking for the USA...

Reply to BumRushDaShow (Original post)

Sat Sep 6, 2025, 03:08 PM

Sep 6

Something Needs to Stop the Traitor to America in power right now.

LT Barclay

(3,110 posts)

21. There are always a group of officers who are more worried about their career than doing the right thing

Reply to BumRushDaShow (Original post)

Sat Sep 6, 2025, 03:28 PM

Sep 6

lonely bird

(2,554 posts)

22. Kegsbreath

Reply to BumRushDaShow (Original post)

Sat Sep 6, 2025, 03:33 PM

Sep 6

Is three wars behind.

Information warfare, asymmetric warfare, economic warfare are what we will face moving forward. That is also one reason why USAID was so important.

We lost the Iraq War and the Afghanistan War because the end results were, arguably, worse to much worse than what existed prior to our military getting involved. Discussions can be held regarding the how and why and should have been in those wars but we have the outcomes that we have.

We don’t need “warriors” or more specifically machismo. We need intelligent people, gay or straight, men or women, that are capable of intelligent analysis, quick decision making and able to understand both the scenario before them and the underlying processes.

Kegsbreath and the Republican Party do not get it. Unfortunately, too many MAGAts do not either.

travelingthrulife

(3,360 posts)

35. Whiskey Pete is a silly man still playing with his toy soldiers in the sand.

Reply to lonely bird (Reply #22)

Sun Sep 7, 2025, 10:09 AM

Sep 7

Turbineguy

(39,437 posts)

23. Well, they can't very well say, "We have to wait until trump croaks!"

Reply to BumRushDaShow (Original post)

Sat Sep 6, 2025, 03:34 PM

Sep 6

sinkingfeeling

(56,449 posts)

25. I smell the putrid orange one's fingers all over this.

Reply to BumRushDaShow (Original post)

Sat Sep 6, 2025, 04:24 PM

Sep 6

rzemanfl

(30,838 posts)

26. Ruck these people. n/t

Reply to BumRushDaShow (Original post)

Sat Sep 6, 2025, 04:37 PM

Sep 6

eringer

(499 posts)

27. How Sick is This?

Reply to BumRushDaShow (Original post)

Sat Sep 6, 2025, 04:39 PM

Sep 6

Rudy gets Medal of Freedom and Tom Hanks the humiliation of not receiving an award he most assuredly deserves.
STUPID IS WHAT STUPID DOES.

dem4decades

(13,186 posts)

30. I guess there's little hope the military won't go full Nazi.

Reply to BumRushDaShow (Original post)

Sat Sep 6, 2025, 05:25 PM

Sep 6

Millay won't be welcomed back either I'm afraid. This military has no qualms about shitting on the constitution.

LetMyPeopleVote

(170,353 posts)

31. trump is a thin skin idiot

Reply to BumRushDaShow (Original post)

Sat Sep 6, 2025, 07:22 PM

Sep 6

A Badger

(31 posts)

33. Besides his role in 'Saving Private Ryan',

Reply to BumRushDaShow (Original post)

Sun Sep 7, 2025, 03:10 AM

Sep 7

Tom Hanks also served as a co-creator and executive producer (with Steven Spielberg) of 'Band of Brothers.

travelingthrulife

(3,360 posts)

34. How petty. Yet these officers, who swore to protect our nation from

Reply to BumRushDaShow (Original post)

Sun Sep 7, 2025, 10:07 AM

Sep 7

foreign and domestic terrorists is going right along with all of this nation burning.

LetMyPeopleVote

(170,353 posts)

36. Trump Goes After Beloved Actor Tom Hanks, Calling Him 'Destructive' And 'WOKE'

Reply to BumRushDaShow (Original post)

Mon Sep 8, 2025, 11:54 AM

Sep 8

The president hoped that the Oscars and other "Fake Awards Shows" would "review their Standards and Practices in the name of Fairness and Justice."

Trump Goes After Beloved Actor Tom Hanks, Calling Him 'Destructive' And 'WOKE'

The president hoped that the Oscars and other "Fake Awards Shows" would "review their Standards and Practices in the name of Fairness and Justice."

www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-...
— Kim-M 26947 (@kimberlymorgan.bsky.social) 2025-09-08T15:06:35.485Z

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-goes-after-beloved-actor-tom-hanks-calling-him-destructive-and-woke_n_68bed7dae4b0b40e31a8d220

President Donald Trump praised West Point on Monday for “smartly” canceling a ceremony to honor Tom Hanks that was planned for later in the month, calling the actor “destructive” and “WOKE.”

West Point planned to award Hanks for his advocacy for veterans and portrayal of service members in several of his projects — “Saving Private Ryan,” “Band of Brothers” and “Forrest Gump” among them.

He would have received the school’s Sylvanus Thayer Award, which is typically given to an “outstanding citizen” who did not attend the academy. Since its creation in the 1950s, the award’s honorees have included former Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Ronald Reagan, along with journalist Tom Brokaw, Justice Sandra Day O’Connor and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.

Hanks has been critical of Trump. In February, he appeared on “Saturday Night Live” to play a racist Trump supporter who refused to shake the hand of Black cast member Keenan Thompson.....

Trump said the cancellation was an ”mportant move!”

“We don’t need destructive, WOKE recipients getting our cherished American Awards!!!” Trump posted Monday on Truth Social, before wondering if other award shows would follow suit.

“Hopefully the Academy Awards, and other Fake Award Shows, will review their Standards and Practices in the name of Fairness and Justice. Watch their DEAD RATINGS SURGE!” he said.

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