'They have enriched our lives': Madeline Albright, Bob Dylan and John Glenn among Obama's 13 Medal of Freedom recipients

President Obama gave America's top civilian honor to musician Bob Dylan, novelist Toni Morrison and 11 others he said have had an 'incredible impact' on society through their words and actions.
'What sets these men and women apart is the incredible impact they have had on so many people,' Obama said, presenting the Presidential Medal of Freedom awards at the White House.
'They have enriched our lives and they have changed our lives for the better.'

Like a rolling stone: President Obama smiles before awarding the Medal of Freedom to rock legend Bob Dylan during the ceremony in the East Room of the White House

Honoured: Obama bestows novelist Toni Morrison, left, and former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, right, with their medals

Out of this world: Former astronaut and senator John Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth, is awarded his medal

In addition to Dylan and Morrison, Obama awarded the prize to astronaut and former senator John Glenn, retired Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, former Israeli President Shimon Peres and Jan Karski, an officer in the Polish underground who carried his eye-witness account of the Nazi Holocaust to the outside world.

Other honorees were John Doar, a key figure in the Justice Department during the 1960s, smallpox eradication pioneer William Foege, civil rights campaigner Dolores Huerta, Girl Scouts founder Juliette Gordon Low, women's basketball coach and Alzheimer's advocate Pat Summitt and Gordon Hirabayashi, who fought Japanese-American internment during World War II.

High spirits: President Obama winks in front of civil rights activist Dolores Clara Fernandez Huerta

Tribute: Retired Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, left, and civil rights activist Dolores Huerta, right, were also among the honorees

Low died in 1927 and Karski died in 2000.
Peres did not attend the ceremony and the White House said he would receive his medal at a separate event.
The president has sole discretion in choosing the honorees.

Winner: Former University of Tennessee basketball coach Pat Summitt was all smiles as she received her medal

Hey, Mr Tambourine Man: Bob Dylan adjusts his tie as he waits backstage prior to his introduction at the ceremony

In a closing statement before distributing the medals, Obama said: 'Everyone on this stage has marked my world in some ways.

'What an extraordinary honour to say thank you for the great work you have done. It is now my honour to present them with a small token of my appreciation.'
Past recipients include former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, South African anti-Apartheid leader Nelson Mandela, and civil rights activist Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.

Freedom fighter: President Obama awards a 2012 Presidential Medal of Freedom to former U.S. Assistant Attorney General John Doar, who ran the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice

Albright was the first woman to hold the top U.S. diplomatic job, while Glenn was the first American to orbit the earth.
Summitt led the University of Tennessee women's basketball team to more NCAA Final Four appearances than any other team.
And Dylan's vast catalog of songs includes such rock classics as 'Like a Rolling Stone,' 'Blowin' in the Wind' and 'Mr. Tambourine Man.'

Distinction: William Foege, former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who helped lead the effort to eradicate smallpox

RECIPIENTS OF THE 2012 PRESIDENTIAL MEDAL OF FREEDOM

• Bob Dylan, singer and songwriter of such hits as 'Like a Rolling Stone,' 'Blowin' in the Wind' and 'Mr. Tambourine Man.'
• Madeleine Albright, former secretary of state
• John Glenn, astronaut and former senator
• Pat Summitt, basketball coach
• Toni Morrison, author of such novels as 'Song of Solomon' and 'Beloved.'
• John Paul Stevens, former Supreme Court Justice.
• Juliette Gordon Low, founder of the Girl Scouts.
• Shimon Peres, president of Israel.
• John Doar, who handled civil rights cases as assistant attorney general in the 1960s.
• William Foege, former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who helped lead the effort to eradicate smallpox.
• Gordon Hirabayashi, who fought the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II.
• Jan Karski, a resistance fighter against the Nazi occupation of Poland during World War II.
• Dolores Huerta, co-founder of the National Farmworkers Association, which later became the United Farm Workers of America.