West Point CANCELS Award Ceremony For Actor Tom Hanks

It appears Tom Hanks is no longer welcome to West Point.

The West Point alumni association has cancelled its awards ceremony to honor Tom Hanks.

The award ceremony was expected to take place at the end of September.

Fox News provided the full details on Hank’s ceremony cancellation:

The official West Point alumni association has canceled an awards ceremony later this month for veterans advocate Tom Hanks, according to a report.

Hanks, who is known for military movies like “Saving Private Ryan” and “Forrest Gump,” was also a former President Joe Biden supporter who has criticized President Donald Trump in the past.

He has received backlash from Trump supporters for his recurring MAGA character Doug on “Saturday Night Live,” who has appeared in “Black Jeopardy” sketches.

He also received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from former President Barack Obama in 2016.

Retired Army Col. Mark Bieger, president and CEO of the West Point Association of Graduates, sent the news of the cancellation in an email to members, according to the Washington Post.

West Point just canceled an awards ceremony honoring Tom Hanks. The military has no reason to honor him. He hasn’t earned it. Gary Sinise would be a much better recipient of that honor. He has advocated 100x more for Vets than Hanks ever did. pic.twitter.com/aFhuSuG5O0

— 𝕍𝕚𝕠𝕝𝕒 𝕃𝕖𝕚𝕘𝕙 𝔹𝕝𝕦𝕖𝕤 (@ViolaLeighBlues) September 6, 2025

The New York Post reported the event got cancelled right after President Trump renamed the Department of Defense the Department of War:

Alumni at West Point’s US Military Academy abruptly canceled an upcoming award ceremony for actor and veterans advocate Tom Hanks – a long time backer of Democratic candidates and causes, who was roasted this year for his portrayal of a President Trump supporter as a racist dope.

“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,” read an email dispatched Friday by Retired Army Col. Mark Bieger to alumni, per The Washington Post.

Hanks was scheduled to be honored at the famed military institution on Sept. 25 with the Sylvanus Thayer Award, dedicated to recognizing an “outstanding citizen” who did not attend West Point, but still exemplifies the academy’s ideals of “Duty, Honor, Country.”

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The email did not state whether Hanks would still be receiving the award at a different time, or whether it had been revoked, the outlet reported.

Bieger’s email was sent the same day Trump renamed the Department of Defense the Department of War telling reporters that he thinks it “sends a message of victory.”

“It’s a very important change because it’s an attitude,” he said of the move away from the word “defense.”

The Department of War was originally renamed in 1947 after WWII to be the Department of Defense.