MAY 30, 2012 AT 2:12 PM ET BY COLLEEN CURTIS
On The Occasion of Her Death - What the Medal of Freedom Means to Me: Madeleine Albright
Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright says receiving the Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, left her "almost" speechless.
When President Obama presented Madeleine Albright with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, he praised her remarkable achievements:
As the first woman to serve as America’s top diplomat, Madeleine’s courage and toughness helped bring peace to the Balkans and paved the way for progress in some of the most unstable corners of the world. And as an immigrant herself -- the granddaughter of Holocaust victims who fled her native Czechoslovakia as a child -- Madeleine brought a unique perspective to the job. This is one of my favorite stories. Once, at a naturalization ceremony, an Ethiopian man came up to her and said, 'Only in America can a refugee meet the Secretary of State.' And she replied, 'Only in America can a refugee become the Secretary of State.'
