Tom Cruise is Honoured With The US Navy’s Highest Civilian Honour

Hollywood actor Tom Cruise has been awarded the US Navy’s highest civilian honour for his “outstanding contributions” to the military through his impactful movies.

Tom Cruise was presented with the Distinguished Public Service Award during a ceremony on Tuesday in Surrey.

According to a news release, the award is the Navy’s highest honour that a person outside the Department of the Navy can receive.

US Secretary of the Navy, Carlos Del Toro, handed him a certificate and medal.

On Tuesday, Del Toro said: “Tom Cruise has spent nearly four decades as an unwavering supporter of the men, women and families of the navy and marine corps.”

Tom Cruise described the award as an “extraordinary acknowledgement.”

The ‘Top Gun’ actor said, “I accept this on behalf of not just myself, but our entire cast, crew, writers, directors, and the studios in Hollywood who are so dedicated to helping. I admire all the servicemen and women.”

“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.”

Cruise has celebrated and glorified fighter pilots in his action-packed movies. The actor is a licensed pilot too. He starred as Maverick in Top Gun, which became famous for its groundbreaking visual effects.

He then reprised his role as Lieutenant Pete Mitchell in the 2022 sequel Top Gun: Maverick. Many youngsters exhibited a lot of interest in the military following the release of the movie.

The prestigious civilian honour was previously awarded to names such as Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks for their World War II film Saving Private Ryan.

The Hollywood icon’s next movie Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning is all set to release in May 2025.