Medal of Freedom ceremony

President Barack Obama awarded the Medal of Freedom to this year's recipients during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington Tuesday,

Section:Gallery

Tue., Feb. 15, 2011

President Barack Obama reaches up to present a 2010 Presidential Medal of Freedom to basketball hall of fame member and former Boston Celtics coach and captain Bill Russell, Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2011, during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington.

Carolyn Kaster Associated Press
President Barack Obama reaches up to present a 2010 Presidential Medal of Freedom to basketball hall of fame member, former Boston Celtics coach and captain Bill Russell, Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2011, during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington.

Pablo Monsivais Associated Press
President Barack Obama presents Holocaust survivor Gerda Weissmann Klein a 2010 Presidential Medal of Freedom Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2011, during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington.

Carolyn Kaster Associated Press
President Barack Obama presents baseball hall of fame member and former St. Louis Cardinals great Stan "The Man" Musial a 2010 Medal of Freedom during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2011.

Pablo Monsivais Associated Press
President Barack Obama presents a 2010 Presidential Medal of Freedom to John H. Adams, co-founder of the Natural Resources Defense Council, Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2011, during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington.

Carolyn Kaster Associated Press
President Barack Obama awards cellist Yo-Yo Ma the 2010 Medal of Freedom during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2011.

Charles Dharapak Associated Press
President Barack Obama stands with Libby Little, whose husband Dr. Tom Little, an optometrist killed in Afghanistan, was posthumously awarded the 2010 Medal of Freedom during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2011.

Charles Dharapak Associated Press
President Barack Obama shakes hands with former President George H.W. Bush after presenting him the 2010 Medal of Freedom during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2011.

Pablo Monsivais Associated Press
President Barack Obama awards the 2010 Medal of Freedom to artist Jasper Johns during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2011.

Charles Dharapak Associated Press
President Barack Obama speaks in the East Room of the White House in Washington Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2011, during the Medal of Freedom recipients ceremony.

Charles Dharapak Associated Press
President Barack Obama kisses author and poet Maya Angelou after awarding her the 2010 Medal of Freedom during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2011.

Charles Dharapak Associated Press
President Barack Obama awards the 2010 Medal of Freedom to Warren Buffett during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2011.

Charles Dharapak Associated Press