Which medal did President Ronald Reagan award Raymond Weeks for his Veterans Day work?

President Ronald Reagan awarded Raymond Weeks the Presidential Citizens Medal for his Veterans Day work.

Weeks was a World War II veteran from Birmingham, Alabama, who worked to broaden Armistice Day into a holiday honoring veterans of all American wars. He organized Birmingham’s first all-veterans celebration in 1947 and spent decades advocating for a national Veterans Day.

The Presidential Citizens Medal is one of the highest civilian honors in the United States. It recognizes citizens who have performed exemplary service to the country or to fellow citizens. Reagan presented the medal to Weeks in 1982, acknowledging his sustained public service and veterans advocacy.

The award is often confused with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which is the country’s highest civilian honor. Weeks’s recognition was the Presidential Citizens Medal, a separate award created by President Richard Nixon in 1969.