Medal of Freedom List
By The Associated Press
Biographical sketches of the 15 people awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Wednesday:
--James Edward Burke, of Princeton, N.J.
Burke is the former chairman of Johnson & Johnson. There, he successfully worked to restore consumer confidence
in over-the-counter medications in the aftermath of the Tylenol drug-tampering scare. The current chairman of the
Partnership for a Drug-Free America, he has helped develop the National Youth Media Campaign and drive down drug
use among young people.
--The late Sen. John Chafee, R-Rhode Island.
Chafee served at Guadalcanal as a Marine lieutenant and went on to fight in the Korean War. He later served as
governor of Rhode Island, as Secretary of the Navy, and in the Senate. Chafee, who died last year, was one of the
architects of the 1980 Superfund program and the Coastal Barrier Resources Act. Among the other bills he promoted
were the Clean Water Act of 1986, the 1990 amendments to the Clean Air Act, and the Oil Pollution Act of 1990.
--Retired Gen. Wesley Clark, of Arlington, Va.
Clark graduated first in his class from West Point. He served in the Army in Vietnam, helped to negotiate the Dayton
Peace Accords, and headed the U.S. European Command and was NATO's Supreme Allied Commander during the
1999 Kosovo air war.
--Retired Adm. William Crowe, of Alexandria, Va.
Crowe is a four-time recipient of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal and has more than fifty years of government
service. He served as commander of the Middle East Force in the Persian Gulf, head of Navy Plans and Policy, Commander in Chief of the Navy's Pacific Command, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
--Marian Wright Edelman of Washington, D.C.
Edelman is president of the Children's Defense Fund, a nonprofit advocacy group. She began her career as an attorney
with the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund in 1964 and was the first black woman admitted to the Mississippi bar. In 1976, she became the first black and second woman to chair of the board of trustees of Spelman
College.
--John Kenneth Galbraith of Cambridge, Mass.
A leading economist and author of more than 30 books, Galbraith also held numerous government positions. During
World War II, he worked to control inflation in the Office of Price Administration, and later served as adviser to
Presidents Kennedy and Johnson. He was also chairman of the advocacy group Americans for Democratic Action from
1967-69 and taught economics at Harvard for nearly 30 years.
--Monsignor George Higgins of Washington, D.C.
Higgins has worked inside and outside the Catholic Church for more than 50 years on behalf of workers and labor
groups. He is an adjunct lecturer at Catholic University.
--The Rev. Jesse Jackson of Chicago.
A longtime civil rights activist and two-time Democratic presidential candidate, Jackson was a field representative for
the Council on Racial Equality, and founder of Operation PUSH and the National Rainbow Coalition. He has negotiated
several hostage releases, most recently that of three U.S. POWs held in the former Yugoslavia during the Kosovo air war.
--Mildred Jeffrey of Detroit.
A women's labor and Democratic Party activist, Jeffrey was the first woman to direct a department of the United Auto
Workers. She worked for the UAW from 1945-1976, heading four departments.
--Dr. Mathilde Krim of New York.
Founder of the AIDS Medical Foundation in 1983, Krim was an early leader in the effort to find a cure for HIV
infection and AIDS. Her foundation, which joined with the American Foundation for AIDS Research in 1985, has
poured millions into AIDS research.
--Former Sen. George McGovern of Stevensville, Mont.
After service in World War II, McGovern served in the House and Senate. He was the 1972 Democratic nominee for
president. In the Senate, he chaired the Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs, where he led the expansion of
the federal food stamp program and other feeding and nutrition efforts. He represents the United States at the United
Nations Food and Agricultural Organization.
--Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, D-N.Y.
Moynihan is retiring after four terms in the Senate. First lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, also a Democrat, is campaigning
to succeed him. Moynihan also served in the Cabinet or in other posts for four successive presidential administrations,
Kennedy through Ford.
--Cruz Reynoso of Herald, Calif.
From 1982 to 1987, Reynoso served as the first Hispanic California Supreme Court justice. Reynoso has served as U.S.
delegate to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights and is now vice chairman of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.
--The Rev. Gardner C. Taylor of New York.
Taylor, leader of the powerful Concord Baptist Church of Christ in Brooklyn, is an author and early civil rights
supporter once named by Time magazine as ''the dean of the nation's black preachers.''
--Simon Wiesenthal of Los Angeles.
A concentration camp survivor, Wiesenthal became one of the best-known Nazi hunters. He discovered material that
led to the capture, conviction, and execution of Adolf Eichmann. In 1977, he founded the Simon Wiesenthal Center,
which works to fight bigotry and anti-Semitism. President Carter presented the U.S. Congressional Gold Medal to
Wiesenthal in 1980.
By The Associated Press
Biographical sketches of the 15 people awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Wednesday:
--James Edward Burke, of Princeton, N.J.
Burke is the former chairman of Johnson & Johnson. There, he successfully worked to restore consumer confidence
in over-the-counter medications in the aftermath of the Tylenol drug-tampering scare. The current chairman of the
Partnership for a Drug-Free America, he has helped develop the National Youth Media Campaign and drive down drug
use among young people.
--The late Sen. John Chafee, R-Rhode Island.
Chafee served at Guadalcanal as a Marine lieutenant and went on to fight in the Korean War. He later served as
governor of Rhode Island, as Secretary of the Navy, and in the Senate. Chafee, who died last year, was one of the
architects of the 1980 Superfund program and the Coastal Barrier Resources Act. Among the other bills he promoted
were the Clean Water Act of 1986, the 1990 amendments to the Clean Air Act, and the Oil Pollution Act of 1990.
--Retired Gen. Wesley Clark, of Arlington, Va.
Clark graduated first in his class from West Point. He served in the Army in Vietnam, helped to negotiate the Dayton
Peace Accords, and headed the U.S. European Command and was NATO's Supreme Allied Commander during the
1999 Kosovo air war.
--Retired Adm. William Crowe, of Alexandria, Va.
Crowe is a four-time recipient of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal and has more than fifty years of government
service. He served as commander of the Middle East Force in the Persian Gulf, head of Navy Plans and Policy, Commander in Chief of the Navy's Pacific Command, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
--Marian Wright Edelman of Washington, D.C.
Edelman is president of the Children's Defense Fund, a nonprofit advocacy group. She began her career as an attorney
with the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund in 1964 and was the first black woman admitted to the Mississippi bar. In 1976, she became the first black and second woman to chair of the board of trustees of Spelman
College.
--John Kenneth Galbraith of Cambridge, Mass.
A leading economist and author of more than 30 books, Galbraith also held numerous government positions. During
World War II, he worked to control inflation in the Office of Price Administration, and later served as adviser to
Presidents Kennedy and Johnson. He was also chairman of the advocacy group Americans for Democratic Action from
1967-69 and taught economics at Harvard for nearly 30 years.
--Monsignor George Higgins of Washington, D.C.
Higgins has worked inside and outside the Catholic Church for more than 50 years on behalf of workers and labor
groups. He is an adjunct lecturer at Catholic University.
--The Rev. Jesse Jackson of Chicago.
A longtime civil rights activist and two-time Democratic presidential candidate, Jackson was a field representative for
the Council on Racial Equality, and founder of Operation PUSH and the National Rainbow Coalition. He has negotiated
several hostage releases, most recently that of three U.S. POWs held in the former Yugoslavia during the Kosovo air war.
--Mildred Jeffrey of Detroit.
A women's labor and Democratic Party activist, Jeffrey was the first woman to direct a department of the United Auto
Workers. She worked for the UAW from 1945-1976, heading four departments.
--Dr. Mathilde Krim of New York.
Founder of the AIDS Medical Foundation in 1983, Krim was an early leader in the effort to find a cure for HIV
infection and AIDS. Her foundation, which joined with the American Foundation for AIDS Research in 1985, has
poured millions into AIDS research.
--Former Sen. George McGovern of Stevensville, Mont.
After service in World War II, McGovern served in the House and Senate. He was the 1972 Democratic nominee for
president. In the Senate, he chaired the Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs, where he led the expansion of
the federal food stamp program and other feeding and nutrition efforts. He represents the United States at the United
Nations Food and Agricultural Organization.
--Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, D-N.Y.
Moynihan is retiring after four terms in the Senate. First lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, also a Democrat, is campaigning
to succeed him. Moynihan also served in the Cabinet or in other posts for four successive presidential administrations,
Kennedy through Ford.
--Cruz Reynoso of Herald, Calif.
From 1982 to 1987, Reynoso served as the first Hispanic California Supreme Court justice. Reynoso has served as U.S.
delegate to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights and is now vice chairman of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.
--The Rev. Gardner C. Taylor of New York.
Taylor, leader of the powerful Concord Baptist Church of Christ in Brooklyn, is an author and early civil rights
supporter once named by Time magazine as ''the dean of the nation's black preachers.''
--Simon Wiesenthal of Los Angeles.
A concentration camp survivor, Wiesenthal became one of the best-known Nazi hunters. He discovered material that
led to the capture, conviction, and execution of Adolf Eichmann. In 1977, he founded the Simon Wiesenthal Center,
which works to fight bigotry and anti-Semitism. President Carter presented the U.S. Congressional Gold Medal to
Wiesenthal in 1980.