Why Did West Point Cancel Tom Hanks’s Award? What the Decision Means
“Tom Hanks has done more for the caring of the American veteran, their caregivers and their family than many other Americans.”
Published Sept. 9 2025, 11:12 a.m. ET
Hollywood icons don’t often share a stage with America’s future Army officers. That’s why Tom Hanks being chosen for West Point’s Sylvanus Thayer Award felt like a unique moment. His career is filled with soldier roles, veteran advocacy, and even fundraising for memorials.
Yet just weeks before the Sept. 25, 2025, ceremony, the event was abruptly canceled. Fans, veterans, and cadets alike were left asking: Why did West Point cancel Tom Hanks’s award?
West Point framed Tom Hank's award cancellation as a matter of mission focus.
The Sylvanus Thayer Award, given annually by the West Point Association of Graduates, honors an American citizen whose life exemplifies “Duty, Honor, Country.” Past recipients include President Dwight Eisenhower, President Ronald Reagan, and astronaut Neil Armstrong.
West Point announced Tom as an honoree in June 2025.
But in September 2025, shortly before the planned event, retired Army Col. Mark Bieger, president and CEO of the alumni association, sent an email to staff that the ceremony would no longer take place. “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,” Bieger wrote, according to reporting first published by The Washington Post.
President Donald Trump applauded the decision on Truth Social, calling it “smart” and calling Tom “woke.”
“We don’t need destructive, WOKE recipients getting our cherished American Awards!!!” Trump posted. He went further, blasting Hollywood ceremonies as “Fake Award Shows” with “DEAD RATINGS.”
Tom has long been tied to America’s service members.
Tom has played uniformed heroes in Saving Private Ryan and Forrest Gump. He helped raise money for the World War II Memorial, the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial, and served as chairman for the D-Day Museum Capital Campaign. In 2023, he launched Hanks for Our Troops, a coffee company that donates profits to support military families.
Robert A. McDonald, chairman of the alumni group and former Secretary of Veterans Affairs, said in the June 2025 announcement, “Tom Hanks has done more for the caring of the American veteran, their caregivers, and their family than many other Americans.”
For Tom, the recognition was meaningful. “To be recognized by an institution whose graduates have shaped our country’s history through selfless service is both humbling and meaningful,” he said when first announced as a honoree.
What is the bigger impact of the award cancellation?
On paper, West Point said the move was about staying “mission focused.” But what will the lasting meaning be?
The Sylvanus Thayer Award was designed to celebrate lives that reflect the academy’s motto. Canceling Tom’s ceremony is bigger than just an award or one event. It shows how even acts of recognition can become cultural flashpoints, caught between politics and principle, and it forces a look at what West Point chooses to honor.
It's true, Tom has supported veterans through memorials, advocacy, and philanthropy, but he never wore the uniform or went to war. That contrast fuels the debate: Should America’s most storied military academy celebrate cultural icons, or reserve its highest praise for those who’ve truly lived “Duty, Honor, Country”?
The decision to cancel made clear just how divided we are on the answer.