Gold Star Father Khizr Khan Awarded Medal Of Freedom

WASHINGTON, DC — Khizr Khan, a Gold Star father whose son was killed by a suicide bomber in Iraq and who earned the ire of President Donald Trump after denouncing him during the 2016 presidential campaign, was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom this week.

Khan, a lawyer and Muslim-American immigrant formerly of Silver Spring, Maryland, and now of Charlottesville, Virginia, was the father of Capt. Humayun S. M. Khan. The younger Khan was killed June 8, 2004, in combat in Baquabah, Iraq.

In 2016, Khan gained national attention when he criticized Trump for his then-proposed ban on Muslims in the United States with the words "you have sacrificed nothing."

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The slain soldier's father and mother, Ghazala Khan, first denounced Trump at the 2016 Democratic National Convention and told voters their family wouldn't be allowed in the United States under a Trump presidency — and their Muslim son wouldn't have had the chance to fight for a country that believes in religious freedom.

Trump's response to The New York Times was brief. "I’d like to hear his wife say something," he told writer Maureen Dowd.

Khan went on to found the Constitution Literacy and National Unity Center. He continues to be a prominent advocate for the rule of law and religious freedom.

Khan also served on the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom under President Joe Biden.

The Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian honor presented to individuals who have made exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values, or security of the United States, world peace, or other significant societal, public, or private endeavors, according to the White House website.

Seventeen people received the Medal of Freedom this year, including gymnast Simone Biles, the late Sen. John McCain and gun-control advocate Gabby Giffords.