Overview

• An internal email from West Point Association of Graduates president Mark Bieger informed faculty on Sept. 5 that the Sept. 25 Thayer Award ceremony would not be held to keep the academy focused on its core mission.
• The association did not say if the award itself was revoked or postponed, with NPR reporting Hanks will still receive it but without confirmed timing or format.
• President Donald Trump praised the cancellation on Truth Social, labeling Hanks a “woke” recipient and calling the decision an “important move.”
• Hanks was selected in June for the Sylvanus Thayer Award, with West Point’s alumni leaders citing his advocacy for veterans and his portrayals of service members in film and television.
• Coverage places the decision within broader changes at service academies under the Trump administration, including rollbacks of diversity initiatives and contested restorations of Confederate-era symbols.