Photo: SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty
PresidentsBarack Obama,George W. BushandBill Clintonare on a “mission to inspire America.”
The former presidents have taped aPSA for the National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation, which is raising funds to build a museum to tell the stories and preserve the legacies of Medal of Honor recipients.
“The president of the United States meets so many extraordinary individuals,” Bush, 75, says in the PSA.
“Among the most impressive are those who earn the Medal of Honor, the highest accolade that our country bestows on a member of the armed services,” Clinton, 75, continues.
“The Medal of Honor is awarded for bravery in combat to those who go above and beyond the call of duty,” Obama, 60, adds. “Of the estimated 40 million people who have served in the United States military since the Civil War, fewer than 4,000 have received the honor.”
In a statement, Obama also touched on a unifying aspect of the project. “It’s critical for our nation to come together to salute their bravery and build a museum in their honor.”
The three former commanders in chief as well as former President Jimmy Carter are all honorable directors of the foundation, which in addition to building a museum and education center in Arlington, Texas, hopes to erect a monument in Washington, D.C.
National Medal of Honor Museum
“This museum and monument will provide all Americans a place to learn from the ideals we all hold so dearly: courage, sacrifice, patriotism, citizenship, integrity, and commitment,” Clinton said in a statement.
“The 101,000-square-foot footprint will encompass 25,000 square feet of exhibition galleries, a state-of-the-art Education Center, conference and event space, and an outdoor amphitheater for ceremonies,” the Foundation says of its plans.
The building will have five columns — representing the branches of the U.S. military — to hold up the museum’s main exhibit space. “Each comes to a small point representing the individual acts of courage for which individuals from each branch of the military have been recognized with the Medal of Honor,” the Foundation said of the design.
The Foundation’s website already offers the chance to learn about those who’ve received the National Medal of Honor with asearchable database of recipients' biographies.
The 3,526 men andone womanwho’ve earned the nation’s highest military decoration — the only one worn around the neck — from a U.S. president in the name of Congress have all showed “tremendous personal courage, love of country, and devotion to duty,” Bush said in a statement.
“It’s our responsibility to honor these patriots and their families,” he continued. “Providing a home for their stories to be kept and shared with future generations is one way we can express our gratitude.”
source: people.com
