Soldiers’ Angel Receives Presidential Citizens Medal

WASHINGTON (Aug. 5, 2010), PRNewswire-USNewswire—Maryann Phillips of Soldiers’ Angels is a 2010 recipient of the Presidential Citizens Medal for her self-sacrificing service to the wounded and their families at the U.S. military’s Landstuhl Regional Medical Center (LRMC) in Germany.  Established in 1969 by Executive Order of the President, the Citizens Medal is the second-highest government honor a civilian can receive and recognizes “citizens of the United States of America who have performed exemplary deeds of service for their country or their fellow citizens.”

Those who know Ms. Phillips are not surprised that the President deemed her worthy of national recognition for her work as the volunteer leader of Soldiers’ Angels Germany.  “The Board of Trustees and all Soldiers’ Angels are so proud of MaryAnn,” said founder Patti Patton-Bader.  “Her acts of care and compassion are nothing short of phenomenal and we are honored to stand wingtip to wingtip with her.”

While maintaining a residence in Wyoming, Ms. Phillips lives and works in Germany, where for the last five years she has devoted herself to caring for America’s wounded military personnel and their families five hours away from her at LRMC. As a volunteer, Ms. Phillips regularly spends hours at the bedside of wounded or dying soldiers, distributes gifts of support to patients and medical personnel, coordinates donations, and leads a staff of local German and American volunteers.  She also spends dozens of hours at home each week, completing paperwork and reassuring stateside families of patients she has met at LRMC.

Ms. Phillips was awarded the medal by President Barack Obama in a ceremony at the White House on Wednesday, along with 12 other recipients.  Past military-related recipients have included General Colin Powell, entertainer Gary Sinise and WWII veteran Bob Dole.  The President invited nominations from average citizens for 2010, inspiring military bloggers intimately familiar with Ms. Phillips’ work to nominate her over her strong and self-effacing protests.

According to the official citation, Ms. Phillips received the Medal for “putting her patriotism into action on behalf of our troops and our nation.”

Soldiers’ Angels is an award-winning 501(c)(3) with hundreds of thousands of volunteers providing aid and comfort to members of the U.S. Armed Forces, veterans and military families through a wide variety of hands-on projects and volunteerism. For more information, visit www.soldiersangels.org or call 615-676-0239.