‘To lead is to serve’: Hollywood star Tom Cruise awarded US Navy’s highest civilian honour
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Hollywood actor Tom Cruise (right) with the United States Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro (left). Cruise was awarded the Department of the Navy Distinguished Public Service Award, the highest honour the US Navy can bestow upon a civilian.
PHOTO: SECNAV/INSTAGRAM
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Action movie star Tom Cruise is not only a naval pilot on-screen in the film series Top Gun (1986 to present), but he has also now been given the United States’ Navy’s highest civilian honour.
The 62-year-old American actor was awarded the Department of the Navy Distinguished Public Service Award for his dedication to the US Navy on Dec 17.
The ceremony was held in England, where Cruise has been working on the upcoming action film Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning. The award was presented to him by US Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro.
In his speech, Cruise gave thanks for the “extraordinary acknowledgement” and expressed his respect for those serving in the military.
He said: “I know, in life, something that is very true to me is that to lead is to serve. And I know that to my core.”
The US Navy called Cruise a “staunch advocate” for them in a press statement and said: “He has spent nearly four decades as an unwavering supporter of the men, women and families of the Navy and Marine Corps.
“His dedicated efforts in the film industry have significantly increased public awareness and appreciation for Navy personnel and their sacrifices. As a result, recruitment for Navy pilots surged in the late 1980s and early 1990s.”
Both the Top Gun movies – Top Gun (1986) and Top Gun: Maverick (2022) – about the life of naval aviators, or naval pilots, were box-office hits. A third movie has been confirmed, though it is unclear when production will begin.
Cruise himself had his interest in aviation sparked after making Top Gun. He became a licensed pilot in 1994 and reportedly owns several planes.
He said in the press statement on the award: “I’m happy I have been able to be a source of inspiration to many of the sailors who serve today or have served in the past. The effort was not just on my end, but also the cast and crew I get to work with on all our sets. They are what really bring the work to life.”
This is not the first honour Cruise has received from the US Navy. He was named an honorary naval aviator in 2020 for what the US Navy called “significant and continuous support of naval aviation throughout the production of films Top Gun and Top Gun: Maverick”.
Cruise is also not the only Hollywood star to receive the Distinguished Public Service Award. Film-maker Steven Spielberg and actor Tom Hanks both received it for their work on the World War II movie Saving Private Ryan (1998).
