Fifth President to Receive Thayer Award

WEST POINT, NY – Barack Obama, 44th President of the United States, will receive the 2024 Sylvanus Thayer Award from the West Point Association of Graduates during ceremonies hosted by the U.S. Military Academy Thursday, Sept. 19. The Corps of Cadets will conduct a parade in his honor at 5 p.m. on the Plain, before the award presentation.    

 The Thayer Award, established in honor of Col. Sylvanus Thayer, “Father of the Military Academy,” is presented to an outstanding citizen whose service and accomplishments in the national interest exemplify the military academy’s motto, “Duty, Honor, Country.” The Association of Graduates has presented the award annually since 1958. 

Obama will be the fifth U.S. president to receive the Thayer Award during its 67-year history following Dwight Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and George W. Bush.  

“I want to thank the West Point Association of Graduates for this distinguished award,” said Obama. “I’ve been a longtime supporter of West Point’s mission and have always admired the leaders of character it has produced for our nation.” 

About West Point:  

 The U. S. Military Academy at West Point is a four-year, co-educational, federal service academy located 50 miles north of New York City. It was founded in 1802 as America's first college of engineering and continues today as the world’s premier leader-development institution, consistently ranked among top colleges in the country. Its mission is to build, educate, train, and inspire the Corps of Cadets to be commissioned leaders of character committed to the Army Values and ready for a lifetime of service to the Army and Nation. For more information, go to https://www.westpoint.edu.