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Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipient Sargent R. Shriver
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Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipient Sargent Shriver
"Nearly everybody in their life needs someone to help them. I don't care whether you're the greatest self-made man; the fact is, somebody has helped you along the way."
-- Sargent Shriver
CITATION:
Robert Sargent Shriver has not only shared, but shaped, the action and passion of his times. It was Sarge Shriver's energy, persuasion, and leadership that made the goals of the Peace Corps attainable -- that living reminder that the essence of American power is not might of arms, but constancy of ideals and perseverance of effort. That so much endures with his indelible stamp both stuns and invigorates: Head Start, VISTA, Foster Grandparents, Legal Services, the Job Corps, and more. He released a torrent of creative energy -- from Special Olympic athletes to Head Start students to National Service pioneers. "Serve, serve, serve," Sargent Shriver told Americans, "because in the end, it will be the servants who save us all." His service has been our legacy of hope.
Long-time AFL-CIO official Lane Kirkland (left), former Congressman Bob Michel (center) and former Peace Corps Director Sargent Shriver (right) stand together at the White House after having received Presidential Medals of Freedom from President Bill Clinton.
Remarks made by Sargent Shriver, September 22, 2001
The Honorable Sargent Shriver made the following remarks at the 40th Anniversary of the Peace Corps Vigil at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. on September 22, 2001.
Today I thank everyone who is here. I also thank all persons who would like to be here! I pray also that my few remarks may be helpful to us all…I begin with a few sentences I spoke long ago, but they still are accurate and important, I believe, for our thinking today.
Here are those sentences:
“I recommend that we remember the beginning of the Peace Corps. We risked everything at our beginning in a leap of faith that the Peace Corps would succeed. We started in 1961--40 years ago. We risked everything in a Leap of Faith that the Volunteers would respond favorably to our call for Peace…We opposed the idea that war is inevitable. We believed that with God’s help we could get rid of war! We were a Corps --a band of brothers and sisters united in the conviction that if we worked hard enough to eradicate our fears, and increase the outreach of our Love, we truly could avoid War, and achieve Peace within ourselves, within our Nation, and around the world.”
How and why could we hope and dream for such results? We could do so because the Peace Corps seeks peace through service , not through economic strength or military Power. Service is at the heart and soul and substance of the Peace Corps. Service , however, is a discredited word these days. Who wants to be a servant ? No One!
Service implies servitude , failure to achieve even equality , let alone dominion! Yet the Peace Corps exists to serve, to help, to care for our fellow human beings regardless of race, color, education, or power. The Peace Corps works its magic from below, not from above. It concentrates on basics--food, health, education and community. Peace Corps Volunteers are rarely in capital cities, rarely seen with potentates. They are almost un-American in their willingness to serve in the boondocks!!!!
Peace Corps Volunteers come home to the U.S.A. realizing that there are billions, yes billions of human beings not enraptured by our pretentions or practices, or even our standards of conduct…billions with whom we must live in peace. Peace Corps Volunteers learn that there’s more to life than money, more to life than the latest style in clothes, cars or cosmetics.
Suddenly I realize I do have a response to the original title given me for my speech! They asked me to talk about “the challenge of the Peace Corps.” The challenge is simple to express, but difficult to fulfill--that challenge is expressed in these words:
“PCVs, stay as you are…be servants of Peace; work at home as you have worked abroad--humbly , persistently , intelligently . Weep with those who are sorrowful. Care for those who are sick. Serve your wives…Serve your husbands…Serve your families…Serve your neighbors…Serve your cities…Serve the poor…Join others who serve! Serve…Serve…Serve …that’s the end . That is the challenge ! For in the end it will be the servants who save us all…that’s the Peace Corps!”
On March 1, 1961, President Kennedy signed an Executive Order establishing the Peace Corps. Three days later, Shriver became its first director. Deployment was rapid: Volunteers arrived in five countries during 1961. In just under six years, Shriver developed programs in 55 countries with more than 14,500 Volunteers.
Sargent Shriver Chairman of the Board Emeritus, Special Olympics
As an international lawyer and administrator, ambassador and an advocate for the poor and powerless, Sargent Shriver has compiled an unparalleled record of public service at every tier, from the local level to the world community. A graduate of Yale University and Yale Law School, Shriver served in the U.S. Navy for five years before ending his military career as lieutenant commander.
After ending his military career, Shriver worked briefly as an editorial assistant at Newsweek magazine before joining the staff of Ambassador Joseph P. Kennedy as manager of the Chicago Merchandise Mart. Later, he participated in the formation of some of the programs developed and supported by the Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. Foundation.
During his long and prestigious career, Shriver:
1947-48
Conducted, with his wife Eunice Kennedy Shriver, the National Conference on Prevention and Control of Juvenile Delinquency in Washington
1955-60
Served as president of the Chicago Board of Education
1960
Worked as a political and organization coordinator in the Wisconsin and West Virginia primaries for Democratic presidential candidate John F. Kennedy
1961-66
Served as the organizer and first Director of the Peace Corps, where he developed volunteer activities in more than 50 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America
1964-68
Served as the first Director of the Office of Economic Opportunity under U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson
1964-68
Created VISTA, Head Start, Community Action, Foster Grandparents, Job Corps, Legal Services, Indian and Migrant Opportunities and Neighborhood Health Services
1965-68
Served as Special Assistant to President Johnson
1968-70
Served as U.S. Ambassador to France
1970
Served as Chairman of Congressional Leadership for the Future, traveling to 29 U.S. states to gain support for 89 Democratic candidates for the House and Senate
1970
Named a Partner in the law firm of Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver and Jacobson, specializing in international law and foreign affairs
1972
Nominated by the Democratic Party as a candidate for Vice President with Senator George McGovern in the presidential effort against incumbents Richard Nixon and Spiro Agnew
1975
Embarked on a nationwide Lecture tour "Co-Existence and Common Existence" of the USSR at the invitation of the Soviet government
1978
Inaugurated the Kennedy Institute of Ethics "Trialogue" to foster discussions between leaders of Christian, Jewish and Muslim Religions
1981
Appointed to the Rockefeller University Council, an organization devoted exclusively to research and graduate education in the biomedical and related sciences
1984
Elected president of Special Olympics by the Board of Directors; as president, he directed the operation and international development of sports programs around the world
1986
Retired as Partner of Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson; named of Counsel to FFHS&J.
1990
Appointed Chairman of the Board of Special Olympics
1993
Received the Franklin D. Roosevelt Freedom From Want Award
1994
Received the Presidential Medal of Freedom , the United States' highest civilian honor, from President Clinton on August 8; dedicated The Eunice Kennedy and Sargent Shriver Center at the University of Maryland Baltimore County to engage the strengths and resources of higher education in finding creative solutions to the most troublesome social problems of our time
1998
Shriver Hall dedicated in new Peace Corps Building in Washington, D.C., USA
1999
Shriver Job Corps Center dedicated in Devens, Massachusetts, USA
2001
Received the "Distinguished American Award" from the John F. Kennedy Library and Foundation for his inspiring work with the Peace Corps; Shriver Head Start Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, dedicated
2003
Appointed Chairman of the Board Emeritus of Special Olympics
Shriver holds positions in many associations, including: Director, Arms Control Association; Director, The American Council on Germany; and Co-Chairman, Friends of VISTA. His association memberships include: National Catholic Conference for Interracial Justice, National Interreligious Task Force on Soviet Jewry, Navy League, Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Knights of Columbus.
His awards include: Veteran of the Year, 1956; James J. Hooey Award, Catholic Conference for Interracial Justice Council of New York, 1958; Lay Churchman of the Year, 1963; National Father of the Year, 1964; Notre Dame Patriotism Award, 1965; National Brotherhood Award, 1966; Hannah G. Solomon Award, National Council of Jewish Women, 1972; and the Order of the Smile, 1989.
Shriver also has received more than 24 honorary degrees from universities around the world, including Yale University, Brandeis University, Boston College, Yeshiva University, the University of Liberia and Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand.
Shriver is married to Eunice Kennedy Shriver, daughter of Joseph P. and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy. Eunice Kennedy Shriver is the Founder and Honorary Chairman of Special Olympics and the Executive Vice President of the Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. Foundation. The Shrivers have five children: Robert Sargent Shriver III, Maria Owings Shriver Schwarzenegger, Timothy Perry Shriver, Mark Kennedy Shriver, and Anthony Paul Kennedy Shriver.
Fried Frank Retired Partner Honored by United States Congress
NEW YORK & WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 24, 2003--The United States Congress has honored Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson retired name partner Sargent Shriver for his dedication and service to the United States of America.
In a Congressional resolution sponsored by the Honorable Howard P. "Buck" McKeon (R-California, 25th District), Shriver was honored "for his dedication and service to the United States of America, for his service in the United States Navy, and for his lifetime of work as an ambassador for the poor and powerless citizens of the United States of America, and for other purposes."
Shriver served as a partner at Fried Frank from 1971 through 1986.
"As children we all have visions and dreams of one day being able to change the world, to make a real difference to mankind, to be remembered," said McKeon. "But in reality it is difficult to find a person who has actually done so. As an ambassador and advocate for the poor and powerless; as a man of strong conviction, faith and devotion; as a man who genuinely loves his country and all that it stands for, it is safe to say that Sargent Shriver truly has made a difference in the world."
"Sargent Shriver embodies the characteristics that we all strive to exemplify--personal initiative, creativity, experience and grace," said Valerie Ford Jacob, co-managing partner of Fried Frank.
"It is a source of pride for Fried Frank that one of our partners should be so honored. He represents the very best of humanity," added Paul Reinstein, co-managing partner of Fried Frank.
Shriver, who recently turned 88, has compiled an unparalleled record of public service at every tier, from the local level to the world community. Shriver served in the United States Navy during World War II and retired as a Lieutenant Commander after five years of service. Following a brief stint as an editorial assistant at Newsweek magazine, in 1955, Shriver began a five-year tenure as President of the Chicago Board of Education.
In 1961, Shriver was asked by President John F. Kennedy to organize and direct a program in which young Americans would volunteer to go overseas to help citizens in underdeveloped nations. Under Shriver's guidance and leadership, the Peace Corps was born.
Shriver served as the first Director of the Office of Economic Opportunity, and in the "War Against Poverty," he initiated and created such programs as Head Start, VISTA, Community Action, Job Corps, Legal Services for the Poor, Foster Grandparents, Indian and Migrant Opportunities and Neighborhood Health Services. He also served as United States Ambassador to France under Presidents Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard M. Nixon.
More recently, Shriver serves as Chairman Emeritus of the Board of Special Olympics International.
Shriver has been honored with numerous awards, including the Distinguished American Award from the John F. Kennedy Library and Foundation for his work with the Peace Corps and the Presidential Medal of Freedom , the United States' highest civilian honor, and he has received 24 honorary degrees from universities around the world.
Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson is an international law firm with approximately 550 attorneys in offices in New York, Washington, DC, Los Angeles, London and Paris. It handles major matters involving, among others, corporate transactions, including mergers and acquisitions and financings; litigation; real estate; antitrust counseling and litigation; bankruptcy and restructuring; benefits and compensation; environmental law; insurance; intellectual property and technology; securities regulation, compliance and enforcement; tax; and trusts and estates.
Sargent Shriver Showing Medal to His Children March 24, 1970
Shriver Gets a Gift from Paris. Paris: Outgoing U.S. Ambassador to France, Sargent Shriver, shows the Vermeil Medal of the City of Paris to his children Anthony, 4, Marc, 6, and Maria, 14, while his wife Eunice (left) and an unidentified member of the Paris Municipal Council (right) watch. The medal was a gift of Paris to Shriver prior to his departure to the U.S.
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Medal History
