Sinatra, Stewart Among 13 to Receive Freedom Medal
President Reagan on Monday named Frank Sinatra, Jimmy Stewart, Jeane J. Kirkpatrick, Mother Teresa, test pilot Chuck Yeager and eight others as recipients of the nation’s highest civilian award.
White House spokesman Larry Speakes said the recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom were chosen by Reagan, who is vacationing at his ranch near here, and will be honored at a White House luncheon on May 23. Four of the medals were awarded posthumously.
The honorees are:
--The late jazz pianist, Count Basie.
--Jacques-Yves Cousteau, marine explorer.
--The late Jerome Holland, educator and ambassador. public service.
--Sidney Hook, philosopher and educator.
--Kirkpatrick, former ambassador to the United Nations.
--The late George M. Low, educator and administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
--Mother Teresa, an Albanian nun who works with the poor and dying in India.
--The late Frank Reynolds, ABC-TV anchorman.
--S. Dillon Ripley, former secretary of the Smithsonian Institution.
--Sinatra, honored for his contributions in the fields of the arts, entertainment and public service.
--Gen. Albert Coady Wedemeyer, military hero.
--Yeager, one-time test pilot who broke the sound barrier.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.