U.S. President Barack Obama awarded the nation's highest civilian honor - the Presidential Medal of Freedom - to 16 Americans in a ceremony at the White House on Wednesday, Nov. 20.
2013 Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipients
![Astronaut Sally Ride pictured in an undated photo.](https://gdb.voanews.com/617C6CDA-85D1-4B90-9AED-DAF7160791EB_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Astronaut Sally Ride pictured in an undated photo.
![American civil rights leader Bayard Rustin, pictured in 1968.](https://gdb.voanews.com/F37CA19E-262C-4514-899D-C4EBF1E63772_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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American civil rights leader Bayard Rustin, pictured in 1968.
![Grammy-winning jazz musician Arturo Sandoval, pictured in 2013.](https://gdb.voanews.com/3C4ED59C-E528-47F8-80CC-0BBD1D9B98A0_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Grammy-winning jazz musician Arturo Sandoval, pictured in 2013.
![Former North Carolina basketball coach Dean Smith, pictured in 2006.](https://gdb.voanews.com/8C4FAFC9-4485-4BFA-BA71-48A517991DC5_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Former North Carolina basketball coach Dean Smith, pictured in 2006.