LONDON — The world’s most well-known fictional Top Gun is now a adorned naval hero.
Tom Cruise was awarded the U.S. Navy’s high civilian honor Tuesday for “excellent contributions to the Navy and the Marine Corps” with “Top Gun” and different movies.
Cruise, who has been working within the U.Okay., was given the Distinguished Public Service Award by U.S. Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro in a ceremony at Longcross Studios close to London.
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The 62-year-old actor mentioned he was proud to obtain the “extraordinary acknowledgement,” which got here with a medal and a certificates.
“I like all the servicemen and girls,” Cruise mentioned. “I do know in life, one thing that may be very true to me, is that’s to steer is to serve. And I do know that to my core. And I see that within the servicemen and girls.”
The Navy mentioned Cruise had “elevated public consciousness and appreciation for our extremely educated personnel and the sacrifices they make whereas in uniform.”
“Top Gun,” the 1986 smash hit about Cold War flying aces, made Cruise a star and drove a spike in army enlistment. The Navy even arrange recruitment tables in theaters.
Interest was renewed with the 2022 sequel “Top Gun: Maverick,” wherein Cruise’s character mentored a brand new era of elite aviators.
The Navy mentioned the sequel “introduced nostalgia to older audiences and reinvigorated the minds of newer viewers members, which successfully focused a youthful viewers’s curiosity into the ability units and alternatives the Navy can present.”
Cruise was additionally counseled for his roles in “Born on the Fourth of July,” “A Few Good Men” and the “Mission: Impossible” films.
Cruise’s subsequent on-screen journey, “Mission: Impossible: The Final Reckoning,” is due for launch in May 2025.
