University News

Presidential Medal of Freedom Awarded to Father of Alumnus Killed in Action in 2004

By Jane Kelly, jak4g@virginia.edu

July 12, 2022

Khizr Khan stands at a podium in front of the UVA Rotunda. Ghazala Khan stands next to him.

Khizr and Ghazala Khan, Humayun’s parents, announce the creation of the Capt. Humayun Khan Memorial Bicentennial Scholarship outside the Rotunda in June 2017. (Photo by Sanjay Suchak, University Communications)

The father of a University of Virginia graduate killed in the line of duty in Iraq was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom Thursday at the White House, receiving the nation’s highest civilian honor.

“The father of a Gold Star Muslim family, Khizr Khan turned pain into purpose to become a foremost defender of the ideals of our Constitution and the embodiment of its highest ideals,” an announcer said as President Joe Biden hung the medal around Khan’s neck.

Khan was one of 17 people to receive the honor this year. Other recipients included the late U.S. Sen. John McCain, actor Denzel Washington and Olympic gymnast Simone Biles.

Khan’s son, U.S. Army Capt. Humayun Khan, was the first member of UVA’s Army ROTC program to die in combat since the Vietnam War. He was killed in June 2004 at the age of 27 as he attempted to stop two suicide bombers outside his base in Baquabah. He was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery and posthumously awarded a Bronze Star and Purple Heart.

Humayun Khan wears a military uniform and looks at the camera

U.S. Army Capt. Humayun Khan graduated from UVA in 2000. Four years later, he was killed in action while serving in Iraq.

Humayun earned a degree in psychology at UVA just four years earlier.

The Khan family emigrated to the United States from Pakistan when Humayun was 2, and soon embraced life in America as well as the ideals of the Constitution. In the years since his son’s death, the elder Khan, a lawyer, founded the Constitution Literacy and National Unity Center.

Khan has spoken passionately about his son’s deep dedication and sacrifice to the United States and his reverence for the Constitution. In his breast pocket, he famously carries a compact edition of the document, which he proudly displayed during a speech at the 2016 Democratic National Convention.

Khan told UVA Today he was “honored and humbled when I received the Presidential Medal of Freedom award and thought of the time when I came to this country empty-handed, with a love for our Constitution and the fundamental values enshrined in our founding documents.”

Khan said his son “was an avid reader of our history and fond of Thomas Jefferson and his idea of service to our nation.”

The concrete rail of a bridge is painted blue and reads Hoos Love Captain Humayun Khan, Brave Hero

The University community honored U.S. Army Capt. Humayun Khan’s memory by painting Beta Bridge in 2016. (Photo by Dan Addison, University Communications)

“Humayun used to say, ‘I made the three best decisions in my life: one coming to the University; second, joining UVA’s ROTC program; and third, joining the Army. All three have made it possible for me to complete my dream of being a patriot citizen and servant to others,” Khan recalled.

In honor of Capt. Khan, the University mounted a plaque on the north wall of the Rotunda in May 2017 at a ceremony attended by his parents Khizr and Ghazala, his brothers Omer and Shaharyar, and many others.

The very next month, Khan’s parents, who live in Charlottesville, returned to the Rotunda to announce the creation of the Capt. Humayun Khan Memorial Bicentennial Scholarship Fund. It is financed by the Khan family, alumni, parents, friends, classmates and the University.

A $10,000 award is given annually to a deserving student in need. First preference is given to students in the ROTC program and second preference to a student majoring in a field in which the U.S. Constitution and its history are a common area of focus.