Presenting the Presidential Medal of Freedom at an event in the White House yesterday, Obama said, together the 13 people "have moved us with their words; they have inspired us with their actions. They've enriched our lives and they've changed our lives for the better."
"Some of them are household names; others have laboured quietly out of the public eye. Most of them may never fully appreciate the difference they've made or the influence that they've had, but that's where our job comes in," he said.
"It's our job to help let them know how extraordinary their impact has been on our lives. And so today we present this amazing group with one more accolade for a life well led, and that's the Presidential Medal of Freedom." Obama said.
One among the 13 is Dr. William Foege, who helped lead the effort to eradicate smallpox, saving millions of lives. Albright was the first woman to serve as US Secretary of State, and Toni Morrison was the first African-American women to win a Nobel Prize.
Others honoured included singer-songwriter Dylan, civil rights enforcer John Doar; former US Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens; worker and women's advocate Dolores Huerta; former University of Tennessee women's basketball coach Pat Summitt, and former astronaut and US Senator John Glenn.
Three recipients were honored posthumously -- Jan Karski, the former Polish officer who escaped Nazi imprisonment and provided firsthand accounts to the Western Allies of atrocities he witnessed in Warsaw; Gordon Hirabayashi, who defied the forced relocation and internment of Japanese Americans during World War II, and Juliette Gordon Low, the founder of the Girl Scouts, CNN reported.
A 13th winner, former Israeli President Shimon Peres, will receive his medal at a White House dinner later this year, Obama said.
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is awarded to those who make extraordinary contributions to world peace, national interest and security or other cultural endeavors. It was established in 1963 by President John F Kennedy.
