Medal of Honor event in Knoxville to award Nikki Haley, Dennis Quaid

A military ranking is not the only way to measure sacrifice. Award recipients announced Tuesday for the upcoming Medal of Honor Celebration, including former South Carolina governor and U.S. ambassador Nikki Haley and actor Dennis Quaid, show service can be accomplished in a variety of ways. 

The ceremony is scheduled Sept. 6-10 in Knoxville, marking the second time the city has hosted the event. The only other city to host twice is Boston.

This announcement coincides with National Medal of Honor Day on March 25. 

Honoring ‘distinguished’ Americans

For Haley, service was shown through her roles as the first woman to serve as South Carolina governor, first woman Asian American governor, and first Indian American in a presidential cabinet as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations from 2017 to 2018. 

Haley is set to accept the Patriot Award, the highest individual recognition given by the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, while Quaid will be honored with the Bob Hope Award for Entertainment for his portrayal of military heroes and government icons in film. 

In addition to starring in “The Right Stuff,” Quaid also will portray President Ronald Reagan in an upcoming biopic. 

Dr. Timothy Miller, a retired plastic and reconstructive surgeon, will receive the Distinguished Citizen Award. Miller received the Bronze Star for his service in Vietnam and co-founded Operation Mend, which provides free reconstructive surgery to those severely wounded during America’s wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. 

All of these honors will be awarded on the celebration’s final day during a Patriot Award Gala. Gary Sinise, widely known for his portrayal of Lt. Dan in “Forrest Gump,” will serve as master of ceremonies. 

Sinise has his own foundation dedicated to honoring veterans, first responders and their families.

A year full of festivities 

The celebration originally was scheduled to occur a week later than the current dates, but organizers decided to find a spot on the calendar that didn’t conflict with a home football game for the University of Tennessee.

The five-day celebration honors recipients of the Medal of Honor, given to American military service members who distinguish themselves while engaged in action “conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity” at the risk of their lives above and beyond the call of duty. It includes numerous opportunities in the lead up to and during the celebration for the public to participate.

The celebration is a time for Medal of Honor recipients to reconnect, remember the recipients who have died and to get involved in the local community, according to its website. 

A yearlong series of events culminating in the the Knoxville celebration began Sept. 11 when the Knoxville Medal of Honor Celebration team traveled to Boston to accept the Congressional Medal of Honor Society flag.

The team brought the flag to Knoxville, where it was raised at the East Tennessee Veterans Memorial at World’s Fair Park. 

World War II veteran and Medal of Honor recipient and retired U.S. Marine Corps veteran Hershel W. “Woody” Williams attended the flag-raising ceremony just days before his 98th birthday.