Ross Perot to Receive the William J. Donovan Award®

MCLEAN, Va., Sept. 10 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) Society announced that Ross Perot has been selected to receive the William J. Donovan Award®.  The award will be presented in Washington, DC on October 2, 2010.  The OSS Society awards the William J. Donovan Award to an individual who has rendered distinguished service in the interests of the democratic process and the cause of freedom.  

In announcing the selection, OSS Society Chairman Major General John K. Singlaub said:  "Ross Perot's generous and unconditional support for U.S. Special Operations Forces personnel, heirs to the OSS tradition, and the U.S. military is unparalleled in our nation's history.  Like General Donovan, Ross Perot's achievements are a direct result of his vision, intellect, determination, and leadership.  His example of civilian support for our military and our nation is tribute to the legacy of General Donovan's lifelong service to the United States in both his civilian and official capacities.  Both men gave as much, if not more, to their nation that it gave them."

OSS was the World War II predecessor to the Central Intelligence Agency and U.S. Special Operations Forces.  Its founder, MG William J. Donovan, USA, earned the Medal of Honor in World War I and is the only American to receive the four highest military decorations awarded by the United States.  He served as an assistant U.S. Attorney General, as the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of New York, as an adviser to President Roosevelt before and during World War II, and as ambassador to Thailand.  Upon learning of General Donovan's death in 1959, President Eisenhower said: "We have lost the last hero."

Dating back to 1961, previous recipients of the William J. Donovan Award include Presidents Reagan, Eisenhower, and George H.W. Bush; Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher; Sir William Stephenson; General David Petraeus; and four Directors of Central Intelligence: Richard Helms, William Casey, William Colby, and Allen Dulles.

The OSS Society celebrates the historical accomplishments of the Office of Strategic Services during World War II and educates the American public regarding the continuing importance of strategic intelligence to the preservation of freedom in this country and around the world.  

For more information, please visit http://www.osssociety.org/award.html or contact The OSS Society at [email protected].

SOURCE The OSS Society, Inc.