Tom Cruise and his Freedom Medal of Valor: Where's the tabloid press? - 2014-10-22

Tom Cruise and his Freedom Medal of Valor: Where's the tabloid press? October 22, 2014, Tony Ortega, Underground Bunker

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On Saturday afternoon Bascaran posted the photo of Ruddy and Tom Cruise, and Bascaran indicated that the location was London, and that the actors were there for a "spectacular celebration." But what really caught our eye was the large medal around Tom's neck - we recognized it immediately.

As we explained in our story, this was the first time that we had seen Tom photographed with his "Freedom Medal of Valor" since he had received it exactly ten years earlier from Scientology leader David Miscavige. Two years ago, there was a British press report that Tom had been spotted wearing the medal at the Patron's Ball held on the annual International Association of Scientologists gala weekend, but this was the first time that Tom had actually been photographed wearing the thing since he received it a decade ago. The day this photograph was posted was the same day as this year's IAS Patron's Ball, and we feel pretty confident that's where he was going (in nearby East Grinstead, England, about 30 miles away) after snapping this photo.

Wikipedia cite:

{{cite news | author = Tony Ortega | title = Tom Cruise and his Freedom Medal of Valor: Where's the tabloid press? | url = https://tonyortega.org/2014/10/22/tom-cruise-and-his-freedom-medal-of-valor-wheres-the-tabloid-press/ | work = Underground Bunker | date = October 22, 2014 | accessdate = August 21, 2017 }}