2007 Sacred Honor Award: Eugene Grant

On June 19 the Center in New York held its Fifth Annual Regents Dinner at the Union League Club in New York City. The Board of Regents paid a special tribute founding Regent Eugene M. Grant for his life long dedication to America’s security and freedom.

David L. Luke III, presented the award, which is given in recognition of those who through their dedicated support, financial and otherwise, enable the Center to fulfill its mission and programs.

This presentation, involving two individuals of the “greatest generation,” provided some of the most moving moments of the evening.   As David Luke reminded the audience, the most important thing to remember about those in his generation who served in World War II is how they all recognized that our nation’s enemies represented a “clear and present danger,” not only to the United States but also to the whole free world.   In his acceptance speech, Gene Grant echoed this theme, with particular reference to the perils we face today posed by the global threat of militant Islam, an enemy every bit as ruthless as the Nazis and Imperial Japan that he and David faces so many years ago.

Miles Prentice, Chairman of the Board of Regents, brought this memorable evening to a close by thanking the organizations and institutions, such as the Manhattan Institute and the Hudson Institute whose generous welcome and support, had made the growth of the Center in New York possible.   He reminded the audience that the first Annual Regents dinner had 60 guests, many of whom were present on this fifth anniversary, and the Center owed so much of its success to the kindness not of strangers, but of friends, who shared the Center’s commitment to preserving America ‘s values and the freedoms, which we all cherish.