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Presidential Medal of Freedom Preface |
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Presidential Medal of Freedom PREFACE
Young Adults
Librarians
Scholars
This book was written to meet the particular needs of young adults, librarians, and scholars.
YOUNG ADULTS
This book can be an invaluable tool for young adults who are making decisions about their futures. In The Presidential Medal of Freedom, readers will find real-life heroes to whom they can relate and whose stories will help them select meaningful and rewarding paths in life. As President Reagan observed when addressing recipients of the award: Like those who have come before, today's recipients are artists and statesmen, philosophers and academics, and people of action and profound introspection. Your lives and careers testify to a central truth of humanity: It is better to give than to receive. You've all givengiven of your talent and your energy and your resourcesbecause you know that the only way to fight injustice and promote freedom is to speak a resounding "no" to the forces of international complacency and a resounding "yes" to those whose souls thirst after the cool waters of liberty.
What your example[s] . . . teach all of us is that fighting for what you believe in is not only good; it's fun. It's a pleasant experience to know you've done some good, maybe the most enjoyable experience we all have. You are all possessed of the good cheer and clear consciences of those who know they've done all they can for a cause they believe in.
The reward for good deeds does not only come in the hereafter, it comes every day in the knowledge that the world is maybe a little better because of the things you've done in your life. In reading The Presidential Medal of Freedom, readers will encounter heroes whose stories will teach them how to believe in something and to make it happen; they will encounter men and women who achieved success in life by forgoing the easy buck and by making a lifelong commitment to serve others. Furthermore, because Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients come from such diverse backgrounds, readers can easily find heroes with whom they can identify. Whatever the young reader's race, gender, disability, economic background, hobbies, or vocational interests, the reader will be able to find heroes to whom he or she can relate.
To help readers locate such heroes, I have included an extensive Achievement Index. It lists every achievement recognized in an award citation or presentation speech. Readers can browse through the Achievement Index to find heroes of all types. Achievements range from being a member of the Cowboy Hall of Fame to being a world leader of enormous consequence; from astronaut to deep sea explorer; from comedienne to philosopher; from educator to impresario. Industrialists, civil rights leaders, public servants, philanthropists, and artists of every type have received this award.
My hope is that readers will discover that excellence is the product of integrity, character, work ethic, and the courage to overcome obstacles and failures in pursuing one's dreams. I hope that readers will also discover that those who achieve excellence in one particular area tend to excel in a broad array of undertakings and that a full life includes pursuing varied interests. The reader who finds "Cowboy" in the Achievement Index will discover that "Mac" Baldrige, in addition to being elected to the Cowboy Hall of Fame, was a business executive, political activist, and Cabinet Secretary (Secretary of Commerce). Similarly, the reader who looks up "Governor, First Woman Elected in her own Right," will discover that Ella Grasso was not only the governor of her state, she was also a legislator and she was "a fond wife and mother [who] proved that it is possible to reconcile a full family life with a long and eventful political career."
I hope that reading the citations for their favorite heroes will ignite within readers a passion to find out more about their favorite Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients. Because the recipients are so famous, readers should be able to locate a wealth of material written about, or by, their favorite recipients. In fact, nearly all of them have been featured in Current Biographya work found in many school and public libraries. Current Biography entries include a photograph of the individual and a short (23 page) biography, as well as a list of references for further research.
It is in doing such reading outside this book that young people will learn that the road to success in any pursuit is a road blocked by setback and disappointment. However, they will also discover that the most common trait separating those who made it into this book from those who did not is the determination to stick to one's dreams and principles in the face of adversity. Though few citations mention the obstacles overcome by recipients, every recipient has had to overcome major obstacles to get to the top.
LIBRARIANS
This book is both a testament to the opportunities available to library patrons and a tribute to librarians everywhere. I conducted most of the research for this book at the University of Michigan Law Library and the Gerald R. Ford Library, both in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and this book would never have been possible without the generous assistance of librarians at the Johnson, Ford, Carter, Reagan, and Bush presidential libraries. Furthermore, the book was set and composed at The Computer Center of The Ann Arbor District Library (formerly The Ann Arbor Public Library).
The Presidential Medal of Freedom fills a gaping void in library reference material. I was not able to find any other book on the topic, let alone any other collection of citations. But the importance of this book goes beyond filling an informational void. The importance of making this book available to library patrons lies in the fact that the Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest and most prestigious civilian honor that this country can award an individual. Even though our libraries are graced with many books on our Nation's highest military award, the Congressional Medal of Honor, these same libraries offer their patrons nothing on our Nation's highest civilian award.
I am not suggesting that libraries should in any way give less attention to books on the Congressional Medal of Honor. No. My belief is that just as General James Doolittle was awarded both the Congressional Medal of Honor and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, there should be a place for books on both awards in our libraries. More than anything else, my firm belief that this book should be available to library patrons, particularly young patrons, has motivated me to write and publish this book. I hope that librarians at school and public libraries will share that belief.
SCHOLARS
This book contains the text of every Presidential Medal of Freedom citation awarded through the close of the Bush administration. In those thirty years, seven Presidents had the privilege of selecting men and women to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The rich and beautiful rainbow of human achievement represented by the diverse backgrounds and accomplishments of the recipients has come about, in part, because each President had a unique, personal vision of what is best in America. The values, the priorities, and the dreams of each President come alive for us as we read the citations and presentation speech excerpts.
To aid scholars, I have included the Chronological List of Awards (Appendix B), and have arranged the Bibliography chronologically. Chronological review of citations and presentation speeches affords historians, political scientists, and other researchers the opportunity to compare and contrast awards made by different Presidents, and to observe changes in the types of individuals and achievements recognized by each President as he matured in office. Another aid to scholars, Appendix A, Medals Awarded "with Distinction," should be used only after reading the preamble detailing the limitations on its use.
Two additional caveats are appropriate. First, In the Chronological List of Awards (Appendix B), the date of award is that originally announced, even if the recipient was not present at the scheduled ceremony and actually received the award at a later date (for example, Mother Teresa). Also, the order of recipients listed on a particular date is the order in which the names appeared when originally announced, even if the awards were actually presented in a different order.
The second caveat is that the Achievement Index is designed for use by the general reader (particularly younger readers) and is not designed as a tool for scholars. The index cannot be used to determine which recipients have accomplished a particular achievement. It can only be used to determine that for a particular achievement, the listed recipients were recognized by the President. To amplify the distinction, when preparing the index, I first went through the citations and presentation speeches and made entries for every area of achievement mentioned. Then, if I determined that the President's language was too vague, or that the index would be more "reader friendly" with additional headings using words other than those used by the President, I added appropriate entries. This results in some problems for anyone attempting to use the Achievement Index for a purpose other than to find a recipient recognized for achievement in a particular area. For example, the only name appearing under the entry "Vice President of the United States" is Nelson A. Rockefeller. Neither Lyndon B. Johnson nor Hubert H. Humphrey are listed because their citations do not contain any reference to their being Vice Presidents.
Another example of the Achievement Index's limitations are the entries for Helen B. Taussig. Her nine entries in the index include entries for "Physician," "Physiologist," "Embryologist," and "Heart Surgery, Fundamental Concepts of Pediatric." These are taken directly from the citation. However, I have made additional entries for her, such as "Cardiologist, Pediatric" and "Pediatric Cardiologist." I have supplemented the index with these entries because of my experiences working on the pediatric cardiology unit of the C.S. Mott Children's Hospital at the University of Michigan Medical Center. I have the most sincere respect and greatest affection for the pediatric cardiology nurses and physicians, for my supervisor, and for the patients, families, and others with whom I worked. I hope that by adding entries that make it easier to locate Helen Taussig, it will be more likely that a patient, family member, or worker in the pediatric cardiology field will find support and encouragement in the knowledge that the President found such work worthy of this high honor.
I have followed this indexing principle with other entries toonever omitting an achievement recognized by the President, but enhancing the index with additional entries wherever I thought it might provide support and encouragement to readers, young readers in particular. I have enhanced the index to ensure that readers can find as many familiar individuals and undertakings as possible. I have done this because I recognize that when the President awards the Presidential Medal of Freedom, he not only recognizes an individual for outstanding accomplishment, he also recognizes an undertaking as praiseworthy. I have not added any achievements not recognized by the PresidentI have merely added differently worded expressions for the same achievements.
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