周四，美国总统乔·拜登授予17名个人总统自由勋章，这是美国公民的最高荣誉。

“周一，我们庆祝我们国家的独立，这个国家一直在创造可能性，履行承诺。这就是美国的故事，”拜登在开幕式上说。

“我们在舞台上看到了一个非凡的、非凡的美国人群体，”拜登继续说道。

获得该奖项的家喻户晓的人物包括奥林匹克体操运动员西蒙·比尔斯、演员丹泽尔·华盛顿和足球明星梅根·拉皮诺埃。

拜登称赞在世界舞台上赢得32枚奖牌的比尔斯是“获得自由勋章的最年轻的人”。

“今天，她增加了她的奖牌数，”拜登打趣道。“我不知道你将如何找到房间。”

活动结束后，比尔斯与记者交谈，对这一荣誉的重要性进行了反思。她说，在过去的几年里，她的体操运动一直笼罩着“阴云”，所以“晒晒太阳感觉很好。”

“听到我是最年轻的是一个巨大的荣誉。这有点可怕，因为这是你能获得的最好的奖项，所以现在有点可怕，就像，'哦，我现在该怎么办?'但这是一个巨大的荣誉，”比尔斯说。

美国广播公司新闻的莫莉·纳格尔问她，其他年轻女性能从她如此年轻就获奖中得到什么。

“我认为这将真正教会他们这一点...你可以做任何你想做的事情，只要大胆地说出来，利用你的平台，做真实的自己，做真实的自己，走出去，享受你的冒险，”这位奥运冠军回应道。

拜登列举了所有获奖者的成就，其中包括来自怀俄明州的前美国参议员艾伦·辛普森;西蒙·坎贝尔修女，社会服务修女会成员;弗雷德·格雷，一位杰出的民权律师;黛安·纳什，学生非暴力协调委员会的创始人;劳尔·伊扎吉雷(Raúl Yzaguirre)担任拉拉扎全国委员会首席执行官和主席长达30年。

其他获得勋章的有威尔玛·沃特，她是美国军事史上获得勋章最多的女性之一;桑德拉·林赛是一名护士，她是第一个接种新冠肺炎疫苗的美国人;Khizr Khan，在伊拉克阵亡的美国陆军上尉的父亲;亚历山大·卡鲁托斯神父，一位曾为几位美国总统出谋划策的牧师;Julieta García博士是第一位担任大学校长的西班牙裔女性。

加布·吉福兹(Gabby Giffords)也获得了一个奖项，她是2011年大规模枪击事件中幸存下来的枪支控制的主要倡导者。

拜登说，他们将很快“庆祝30年来最重要的枪支安全法，因为他们和全美国像他们一样的家庭”——指的是最近通过的两党更安全社区法案。

“加贝是我见过的最勇敢的人之一，”总统说。

苹果联合创始人史蒂夫·乔布斯和前参议员约翰·麦凯恩以及前美国劳工联合会-产业工会联合会主席理查德·特拉姆卡被追授该奖项。

拜登和麦凯恩在参议院期间成为朋友。麦凯恩是一名紫心勋章获得者和越南战俘，在2018年死于胶质母细胞瘤之前，他在国会为亚利桑那州服务了几十年。

拜登周四回忆道:“我们的共识比分歧多得多。”。

“我从未停止钦佩约翰，”拜登继续说道。“我这辈子从来没有说过他的坏话，因为我知道他的荣誉、他的勇气和他的承诺。那是约翰·麦凯恩。”

辛迪·麦凯恩代表她已故的丈夫上台领奖。

劳伦·鲍威尔-乔布斯接受了她已故丈夫的奖项，小理查德·特拉姆卡代表他的父亲接受了奖项。

17位获奖者之一的华盛顿没有出席。一名白宫官员表示，由于新冠肺炎的结果，华盛顿无法参加颁奖仪式。

拜登称赞华盛顿是“美国历史上最伟大的演员之一”，并表示将在晚些时候给他颁奖。

白宫表示，大约250人参加了在白宫东厅举行的仪式。副总统卡玛拉·哈里斯和第二先生道格·艾姆霍夫以及总统内阁的几名成员都在那里。

出席仪式的有亨特·拜登和他的妻子梅丽莎·科恩。几位国会议员也在房间里，包括众议员利兹·切尼，R-Wyo，参议员马克·凯利，D-Ariz和参议员克里斯·库恩斯，D-Del。

拜登是第一位在2017年获得奖牌后颁发这些奖牌的总统，当时他担任副总统。前总统巴拉克·奥巴马授予拜登“终身服务，世代长存”的荣誉。

“这是美国，”拜登在仪式结束时说。

Biden awards Medal of Freedom to Biles, McCain, 15 others

President Joe Biden on Thursday awarded 17 individuals with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor.

"On Monday, we celebrated the independence of our nation, a nation always a work in progress in creation of possibilities, the fulfillment of promises. That's the American story," Biden said as he opened the ceremony.

"We see an extraordinary, extraordinary group of Americans up here on the stage," Biden continued.

Household names to receive the award included Olympic gymnast Simone Biles, actor Denzel Washington and soccer star Megan Rapinoe.

Biden celebrated Biles, who has won 32 medals at the world stage, as the "youngest person ever to receive the Medal of Freedom."

"Today, she adds to her medal count," Biden quipped. "I don't know how you're going to find room."

Biles spoke with reporters after the event, reflecting on the magnitude of the honor. She said that her sport of gymnastics has had a "cloud" over it the last few years, so "to put some sunshine feels good."

"Hearing that I was the youngest was a huge honor. It's kind of scary because it is the best award you can receive in your whole like, so now it's kind of scary, like, 'Oh, what do I do now?' But it's a huge honor," Biles said.

ABC News' Molly Nagle asked her what other young women can take away from her winning the award at such a young age.

"I think it will really teach them that ... you can do anything you put your mind to, and just to speak up and use your platforms, be authentic to yourself and stay true to yourself and just go out there and have fun in whatever your adventure is," the Olympic champion responded.

Biden listed the achievements of all the recipients, which include Alan Simpson, a former U.S. senator from Wyoming; Sister Simone Campbell, a member of Sisters of Social Service; Fred Gray, a distinguished civil rights attorney; Diane Nash, a founder of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee; and Raúl Yzaguirre, who served as CEO and president of National Council of La Raza for 30 years.

Other medal recipients are Wilma Vaught, one of the most decorated women in U.S. military history; Sandra Lindsay, a nurse who was the first American to receive the COVID-19 vaccine; Khizr Khan, the father of U.S. Army captain who was killed in Iraq; Father Alexander Karloutsos, a priest who advised several U.S. presidents; and Dr. Julieta García, who was the first Hispanic woman to serve as a college president.

Gabby Giffords, a leading voice for gun control after surviving a mass shooting in 2011, also received an award.

Biden said they will soon "celebrate the most significant gun safety law in 30 years because of them and because of families like theirs all across America" -- referencing the recently passed Bipartisan Safer Communities Act.

"Gabby is one of the most courageous people I have ever known," the president said.

Apple co-founder Steve Jobs and former Sen. John McCain were given the honor posthumously, as was former AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka.

Biden and McCain became friends during their time in the Senate. McCain, a Purple Heart recipient and prisoner of war in Vietnam, served Arizona in Congress for decades before succumbing to glioblastoma in 2018.

"We agreed on a lot more than we disagreed on," Biden reminisced on Thursday.

"I never stopped admiring John," Biden continued. "I never said a negative thing about him in my life because I knew his honor, his courage and his commitment. That was John McCain."

Cindy McCain was on stage to accept the award on behalf of her late husband.

Laurene Powell-Jobs accepted her late husband's award and Richard Trumka Jr. accepted the award on behalf of his father.

Not in attendance was Washington, one of the 17 recipients. A White House official said Washington was unable to partake in the ceremony because of a COVID-19 result.

Biden hailed Washington as "one of the greatest actors in American history" and said he will give him the award at a later date.

The White House said approximately 250 were in attendance at the ceremony, which was held in the East Room of the White House. Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff were there, as well as several members of the president's cabinet.

Spotted at the ceremony were Hunter Biden and his wife Melissa Cohen. Several members of Congress were also in the room, including Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., and Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del.

Biden is the first president to give out these medals after receiving one himself in 2017, while he was serving as vice president. Former President Barack Obama awarded Biden for his "lifetime of service that will endure through the generations."

"This is America," Biden said as the ceremony concluded.