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Congressional Gold Medal.com |
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Congressional Gold Medal Recipient
Secretary of State Colin L. Powell
Secretary of State Colin L. Powell Colin Powell was born on April 5, 1937 to Jamaican immigrants, Luther and Maud Powell. He was raised in the South Bronx and educated in New York City's public school system. Following his graduation from high school, Powell attended City College of New York (CCNY) where he studied geology and participated in ROTC. Powell graduated from CCNY in June 1958 and received a commission as an Army second lieutenant. Powell served his country as a professional soldier for 35 years, eventually reaching the rank of four-star general. During his service, he served as Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs as well as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Department of Defense's highest military position. Following his retirement, Powell spent time on his career as a public speaker and penned his autobiography, "My American Journey," with Joseph E. Persico. He also served as chairman of America's Promise - The Alliance for Youth, a nonprofit organization aimed at getting Americans from all walks of life involved in the lives of America's young people. Powell was nominated as Secretary of State on December 16, 2000 and, after being unanimously confirmed by the Senate, was sworn in as the first
African American Secretary of State on January 20, 2001. During the 1991 Gulf War Gen. Colin Powells steady gaze looked out from television screens across the world. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff appeared smart, certain and straightforward. After the Gulf War, which successfully expelled the Iraqi army from Kuwait, Powells instant celebrity grew, his name becoming synonymous with integrity to many Americans across the political spectrum. Then, the speculation surrounding his potential political career began swirling. He is charismatic, says Howard Means, Powells 1992 biographer. As soon as you meet him, you cant help liking him. I think that comes across in his interviews and it came across during the Gulf War. When I first met him, right away I could see myself going fishing with him and having a few drinks over a good conversation. He just makes you feel at ease.
National Myth Powells life journey reads like a national myth. Raised in the poverty-stricken South Bronx by immigrant parents from Jamaica, he went to public schools, including the City College of New York, where he joined the ROTC. After graduation, he was commissioned in the Army as a second lieutenant and rose through the lower ranks to become the first African American and youngest Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, from 1989 to 1993, when he retired from the military to write his 1995 best selling autobiography My American Journey. For the past seven years Powell has remained in the public eye, traveling the country speaking to schools, businesses and other organizations about his life story. Hes also sat on various corporate boards and chaired Americas Promise, a civic organization dedicated to uplifting youth through mentoring programs, after-school programs and education.
Military Man
Powell says he fell instantly in love with the military when he joined the ROTC program his first semester at City College. Although never a star student, he excelled in the army. The discipline, the structure, the camaraderie, the sense of belonging were what I craved, he wrote, comparing it to the other pillar of his life, the Episcopal church. Powell served two tours in
Vietnam War. During the second, he survived a helicopter crash landing, going back into the smoking wreckage to pull out his commanding general and two others. For that and other valor in Vietnam, he received two Purple Hearts, a Bronze Star, a Soldiers Medal, and the Legion of Merit. For the next two decades Powell moved back and forth between the military and Washington bureaucracy. In 1973, he travelled to South Korea to take command of a battalion but then returned to Washington later that year as a staff officer at the Pentagon. After graduating from the National War College, the Harvard of military education, in 1976 Powell took command of the Second Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. In the early 1980s, he completed assignments as assistant commander of the Forth Infantry Division at Fort Carson, Colo., and as deputy director at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Then in 1987, while stationed in West Germany as commanding general of the Fifth Corps in Frankfurt, he was called back to Washington to serve as National Security Adviser. Powell, 63, has served three Presidents Reagan, Bush and Clinton at the very top of the national security establishment; first as deputy national security adviser and then as National Security Adviser. Finally he was appointed Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the senior ranking member of the U.S. Armed Forces and top military advisor to the president. During that time he helped shape American defense and foreign policy. His career has spanned the fall of the Berlin Wall, 1983 invasion of Grenada, downsizing of the military, 1989 invasion of Panama, 1991 Gulf War, collapse of the Soviet Union, 1992-93 engagement in Somalia and the crisis in Bosnia.
President Powell In 1996 and 2000 Powell supporters pressured the now retired Army general to run for president or at least take a role as vice president. They touted their hero as the only candidate with the moral stature needed to unite a politically divided country, and heal longstanding racial wounds. Twice Powell said he wasnt interested, but left open the possibility of an appointed position such as secretary of state. Secretary of State is the perfect position, for Powell, says
Casper Weinberger, secretary of defense for seven years under
President Ronald Reagan and Powells former boss. He has experience with Washington bureaucracy, the military, the private sector and foreign policy. He has the knowledge, clear vision for the country and full grasp of the major issues confronting the U.S. internationally, says Weinberger. And he recognizes the importance of the United States being a strong country.
The Powell Doctrine It was under Weinbergers tutelage that Powell honed the Powell doctrine, which had been the Weinberger doctrine until the Gulf War, which was the successful epitome of that philosophy. The doctrine was inspired by lessons learned from U.S. involvement in Vietnam and principles Powell took to heart from a military philosophy book published in 1830. He read On War as a student at the National War College in the early 1970s. Essentially, the Powell doctrine says a country should avoid intervening in international conflicts unless there is a vital interest and a clear, achievable goal. I think the doctrine simply requires that you are a lot more selective about where you get involved, says Weinberger. Its not isolationism, but it is being very conscious, as [Powell] is, that we should not deplete our resources by intervening everywhere. We cant be the worlds police force, nor should we. In several interviews Powell has accused civilian leaders of being too quick to place troops in jeopardy for ill-defined missions, and has cited Lebanon, where 241 Marines were killed by a terrorist bomb during a peacekeeping mission in 1983 as the probable result of uncertain foreign policy. He has also been critical of U.S. policy in Bosnia and Somalia for not having a clear and consistent purpose or full military commitment. As soon as they tell me [military intervention or humanitarian aid] is limited, it means they do not care whether you achieve a result or not, Powell told The New York Times in 1992. As soon as they tell me surgical, I head for the bunker.
Criticisms Powells career has attracted some criticism over the years. He was faulted in some corners for not using his position as custodian of the operational journals of the Americal Division in March 1968 in Vietnam to report the massacre at
My Lai, where American troops were accused of killing 500 unarmed Vietnamese civilians in March 1968. The massacre was eventually brought to light. Powell points out he was not with the division at the time of the massacre and cooperated with the inspector generals staff investigator, who asked him to produce the journal for the date of the massacre. Others have questioned Powells role in Iran-Contra. As Defense Secretary Weinbergers chief military advisor, Powell knew of the initiative to approach the moderates in Iran and send U.S. missiles from the Defense Department to the C.I.A., which then sent them to Israel and eventually to Iran. But Powell and Weinberger testified they did not know Admiral John Poindexters National Security Advisers office, and Oliver North, had illegally arranged to inflate the price of the missiles and divert the extra money to the Nicaraguan Contras. Some have also questioned whether Powells deliberate manner will fit the frenetic life of a secretary of state. Those who have worked with him say he walks a straight and narrow path, does not like to ruffle feathers and is extremely premeditated in his actions, says Means. The Powell doctrine requires a certain amount of time and deliberation before taking action, said Ambassador Tom Graham, who has worked with Powell on several occasions. The secretary of state often has to make quick judgments and act quickly, but I dont doubt Powells ability to move decisively for a moment. But once a decision is made, it is usually final. He doesnt sit around wondering if he made the wrong decision, says Means.
Cheers and Boos in 1996 Powells opinions on racial and social issues diverge sharply from conservative orthodoxy, earning him criticism and praise for his centrist stance. He is a supporter of abortion rights and affirmative action, while he opposed President Clintons effort to lift the ban on gays in the military. He also disapproved of the move to impeach President Clinton over his affair with Monica Lewinsky, saying in 1998 that it distracted the nation from serious issues. His words of support for affirmative action earned him boos at the 1996 Republican convention. But his call for Republicans to always be the party of inclusion earned him a standing ovation. But still, the moderate Powell was viewed skeptically by some delegates, who tend to be more conservative than the Republican electorate as a whole. At this years Republican national Convention in July, Powell won more standing ovations and helped George W. Bush in his efforts to put a new face on the Republican party and reach out to
African Americans in particular, who have traditionally favored the Democratic party. He declared education was the key to Americas future, supported immigration, explained minorities concerns and pushed again for affirmative action. Secretary Powells civilian awards include two
Presidential Medals of Freedom, the
Presidents Citizens Medal, the
Congressional Gold Medal, the Secretary of State Distinguished Service Medal, and the Secretary of Energy Distinguished Service Medal. Several schools and other institutions have been named in his honor and he holds honorary degrees from universities and colleges across the country. Powell and his wife Alma have a son, two daughters, and two grandsons.
1991 Colin Powell As Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Colin Powell headed all the U.S. armed forces during the Persian Gulf War. He has received many military awards and decorations, holds honorary degrees from universities and colleges across the country, and has had several schools and other institutions named in his honor. This medal honors General Powell's "exemplary performance as a military leader and advisor to the President in planning and coordinating the military response of the United States to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and the ultimate retreat of Iraqi forces and Iraqi acceptance of all United Nations resolutions relating to Kuwait."
The obverse features a portrait of General Powell and the inscription "GENERAL COLIN L. POWELL" above and around the portrait, with "CHAIRMAN, JOINT CHIEFS of STAFF" inscribed below the portrait. The reverse design features a figure of General Powell congratulating a U.S. soldier above the inscription "PRESENTED TO HONOR HIS LEADERSHIP, INTEGRITY, AND PROFESSIONALISM THROUGHOUT OPERATION DESERT SHIELD AND OPERATION DESERT STORM." Olive branches enclose the inscription and the official flag of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the lower center. The inscription "ACT OF CONGRESS 1991" appears below the flag. Remarks on Presenting Congressional Gold Medals to General Colin Powell and General H. Norman Schwarzkopf December 10, 1992 Let me just say this is a very brief but, in my view, significant presentation ceremony. But in April of 1991, the laws were passed authorizing me as President to present gold medals on behalf of the Congress to Generals Powell and Schwarzkopf. The medals were designed and struck by the U.S. Mint to commemorate their exemplary service in liberating the nation of Kuwait pursuant to those United Nations resolutions. And the mint is also producing duplicates of these medals, bronze duplicates, for public sale. I'm just delighted to be here. I salute the Members of Congress who are with us today, who had an awful lot to do with making this happen. So we'll start by a presentation to
General Schwarzkopf who was, as we know, commander in chief of the United States Central Command. He valiantly directed the United States and coalition in the Operation Desert Storm. And the U.S. and coalition forces under his command met the objectives that we established to counter ruthless aggression and to free Kuwait. He led the men and women of the Armed Forces of the United States in a magnificent achievement in United States military history. I will now ask the commander to read the citation. [At this point, the gold medal was presented to General Schwarzkopf.] They tell me you're not supposed to touch it except with a glove. Congratulations, well-deserved honor. Then General Colin Powell, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. He displayed an extraordinary degree of leadership, competence, professionalism throughout Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm. General Powell and his subordinates brilliantly planned and coordinated the rapid mobilization, the deployment of more than one-half million men and women of the Armed Forces to the Persian Gulf. And that resulted in the successful prosecution of the Persian Gulf war. And Congress fittingly honors General Powell. [At this point, the gold medal was presented to General Powell.] Note: The President spoke at 4:04 p.m. in the Roosevelt Room at the White House. Lt. Comdr. Wayne E. Justice, USCG, Coast Guard Aide to the President, read the citations.
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