1. United States
2. N.C.
3. Letter

I am writing to nominate the 19 Buddhist monks from the Huong Dao Vipassana Bhavana Center in Fort Worth, Texas, for the Presidential Citizens Medal in recognition of their extraordinary 2,300-mile Walk for Peace across America. Beginning on October 26, 2025, these monks embarked on a pilgrimage from Fort Worth to Washington, D.C., promoting peace, compassion, and nonviolence through direct community engagement. Three monks, including head monk Bhikkhu Pannakara, are completing this journey barefoot. Their route through the southeastern United States has touched communities in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia, with multiple cities declaring special days in their honor, including Austin's Walk for Peace Day on November 5, 2025. The monks' commitment to peace has been tested through profound adversity. On November 19, 2025, near Dayton, Texas, a truck struck their escort vehicle, severely injuring Bhante Dam Phommasan, who required leg amputation in early December. Rather than abandoning their mission, the group continued their pilgrimage, and Bhante Dam Phommasan rejoined them in Georgia in early January 2026, demonstrating remarkable resilience and dedication to their peaceful mission. The pilgrimage has fostered meaningful dialogue across diverse communities. The monks visited the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, offering chants and prayers in remembrance of Bloody Sunday, and the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, connecting their message of peace to America's ongoing journey toward justice and reconciliation. Their nonpolitical approach, distributing Buddhist blessing bracelets and maintaining meditative walking practices, has created spaces for reflection and unity in communities across America. This pilgrimage represents exemplary citizenship through peaceful action, interfaith understanding, and perseverance in service of the common good. I urge you to recognize these monks' extraordinary contribution to promoting peace and compassion across our nation by nominating them for the Presidential Citizens Medal.