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The National World War II
Museum honors
three prominent New Yorkers
Peter Kalikow, Maurice Greenberg and John
Whitehead
receive prestigious American Sprit Medallion
NEW YORK CITY (March 8,
2007) – Officials and Trustees of The National World War
II Museum, located in New Orleans, honored three leaders
of the New York community with the presentation of the
American Spirit Medallion at a ceremony in the Rainbow
Room in New York City on Wednesday, March 7. The three
recipients – Peter Kalikow, Maurice “Hank” Greenberg,
and John Whitehead – were recognized for their roles in
helping to create, support, and sustain the Museum since
its creation. The event was entitled “A Generation
Speaks…The National World War II Museum Remembers.”
“The National World War II Museum is proud to honor
these three extraordinary men for their visionary
support of the Museum,” said Governor Pete Wilson,
Chairman of the Museum’s Board of Trustees. He added,
“Their leadership and their contributions to our country
will long be remembered, and will inspire future
generations to seek knowledge, aim for the highest
goals, and never forget that freedom isn’t free. Freedom
is secured only with the courage and sacrifice of those
willing to fight and die for it.”
Former NBC Nightly News Anchor Tom Brokaw, a longtime
supporter of The National World War II Museum, served as
Master of Ceremonies for the tribute dinner and spoke
about World War II and its significance today. The
American Spirit Medallion is one of the most prestigious
honors given by The National World War II Museum. It is
reserved for distinguished veterans and citizens who
have contributed to the success of the Museum and who
epitomize the values represented in the Museum’s
mission: courage, discipline, teamwork, and sacrifice,
all of which defined the American Spirit of the World
War II era. Museum President and CEO Dr. Gordon H.
“Nick” Mueller noted, “The Museum has been fortunate to
have the support of key leaders in New York from the
very beginning of the Museum’s development as early as
1990; they came to our aid again during the crisis
following Hurricane Katrina and are still helping us
move forward in our expansion plans.”
The three honorees have all had distinguished careers in
New York and exceptional records of service to their
country and their communities.
Peter Kalikow is President of H.J. Kalikow & Company,
LLC, one of New York’s leading real estate firms. He has
a long history of public service in local, state and
national politics, including his current position as
Chairman of New York’s Metropolitan Transportation
Authority. An enthusiastic student of World War II and
military history, Kalikow developed a close relationship
with Dr. Stephen Ambrose, one of the country’s most
renowned World War II historian and authors. In 1990,
Kalikow funded the original feasibility study that
launched Dr. Ambrose’s vision to build a museum to tell
the story of the D-Day invasion at Normandy. That gift
was the first step toward the creation of the Museum,
which opened in 2000. Kalikow served as a member of the
Board of Trustees from 2003-2005. In large part, his
work on behalf of the Museum is a tribute to his father,
the late Harold J. Kalikow, who served with the U.S.
Marine Corps at Guadalcanal. Father and son were honored
together as Men of the Year by the UJA-Federation in
1976 and received the Norman Tishman Award from the
Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith in 1978. Peter
Kalikow also received The Peace Medal, the State of
Israel’s highest civilian award, in 1982 for his many
years in aiding the nation’s development.
In 2000, Maurice Greenberg and The Starr Foundation made
a capstone gift that completed the first phase of the
Museum – the “D-Day’s of the Pacific” wing.
“Hank”Greenberg, nicknamed after his favorite baseball
player, is the Chairman and CEO of C.V. Starr & Company,
Inc., a global investment firm. He left high school at
the age of 17 to join the U.S. Army and was attached to
the Army Rangers, storming Omaha Beach on D-Day. Later,
he was among the soldiers who liberated the Nazi
concentration camp at Dachau. He returned to New York to
continue his education and completed law school on the
G.I. Bill. Recalled for service in Korea, Greenberg rose
to the rank of Captain. He is a recipient of the Bronze
Star. Greenberg also is an active member of numerous
civic and charitable organizations including being the
founding Chairman of the U.S.-Philippine Business
Committee, Vice Chairman of the U.S.-ASEAN Business
Council, Chairman Emeritus of New York-Presbyterian
Hospital, and Life Trustee of New York University.
John Whitehead enlisted in the U.S. Navy at the age of
19. He piloted landing craft to the shore in Normandy on
D-Day and participated in the invasions of Southern
France, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. Whitehead began his
professional career in 1947 at Goldman, Sachs & Co.,
where he worked for 38 years. He was named Co-Chairman
and Senior Partner in 1976 and is currently Chairman of
the Goldman Sachs Foundation. He has served on the board
of numerous companies and is a former Director of the
New York Stock Exchange and Chairman of the Securities
Industry Association. Whitehead further served his
country when appointed Deputy Secretary of State in 1985
under Secretary George Schultz, and was awarded the
Presidential Citizens Medal by President Ronald Reagan.
Returning to New York in 1989, Whitehead has been active
in many educational, civic, and charitable
organizations. He is a former Chairman of the Federal
Reserve Bank of New York, the United Nations
Association, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the
Harvard Board of Overseers, Haverford College, and the
Asia Society. In 2001, he was appointed Chairman of the
Board of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation,
the organization responsible for revitalization of the
area following September 11, and served in that position
until May 2006. He is the Founding Chairman of the World
Trade Center Memorial Foundation. Along with noted
journalist and news anchor Tom Brokaw, Whitehead showed
leadership support for the Museum in the critical days
following Hurricane Katrina by co-hosting a private
fundraiser luncheon in New York to help the Museum
through its immediate financial crisis and reopen its
doors to the public on December 3, 2005.
Previous recipients of the American Spirit Medallion
include members of Congress who are WWII veterans,
Normandy veterans who participated in a special 60th
anniversary ceremony of the D-Day invasion, and leaders
of the U.S. Coast guard and American Red Cross who came
to the aid of New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina.
“These honorees are remarkable for their devotion to our
country, their focus on ensuring that future generations
learn about World War II and its significance for today,
the mark they have made on the world in business, and
their participation in civic, educational, religious and
philanthropic causes,” said Wilson. “The National World
War II Museum is grateful to be among their priorities.”
The Museum, officially designated by the U.S. Congress
as the country’s National World War II Museum in 2003,
has launched a $300 million, 220,000 square foot
expansion project, which will cover an additional three
city blocks in New Orleans’ historic Warehouse District.
Plans include four prominent exhibition pavilions which
will portray all campaigns of the war on land, sea, and
air; each branch of the U.S. military services; a
theater and USO entertainment facility, and a WWII
period restaurant. It is located in New Orleans because
it was there that Andrew Higgins designed and built the
landing craft used in the war’s amphibious invasions –
which President Eisenhower believed won the war for the
Allies.
Recognized with a #1 ranking in USA Today’s listing of
Best Places to Learn U.S. Military History, the current
80,000 square foot Museum comprises dramatic interactive
displays, personal accounts, and more than 10,000
artifacts covering the D-Days of Normandy and the
Pacific as well as the home front effort. A new K-12
education and research center opened last year. The
Museum continues to build a comprehensive collection of
WWII-era oral histories. “Our mission is urgent as
America is losing nearly 1,500 WWII veterans every day,”
said Mueller. “Their stories are priceless and must be
preserved for future generations.”
Since it opened in 2000, more than 1.6 million people
have visited the Museum, including more than a 250,000
students and teachers, many of whom experienced for the
first time the impact of WWII and the contributions that
people throughout our nation made to the war effort. The
Museum had minimal damage from Hurricane Katrina and
reopened to the public after a few months. Total
visitation since the reopening in December 2005 has been
more than 85,000. Membership continues to grow, with
more than 130,000 members from every state in the
country. WWII veterans account for 40,000 of that
number. The Museum’s goal is to share the values of the
American Spirit with the next generation, to increase
awareness of our democratic heritage, to nurture
responsible citizens, and to cultivate leaders.
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