A Nevada man was honored with the U.S. Army’s highest civilian award for his decades of work supporting veterans.
Peter Palivos was presented with the Distinguished Civilian Service Medal by U.S. Army General Andrew Poppas at a Saturday ceremony at Palivos’ home. The event was attended by Nevada dignitaries including Las Vegas Mayor Shelley Berkley, Rep. Susie Lee, Lt. Gov. Starvos Anthony, and 100-year-old Henry Jackson, a decorated Marine who was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in Las Vegas in 2022.
“It’s all very surreal,” said Palivos. “It’s a great honor, but I’d like to also take this opportunity to encourage others to get involved with philanthropy and to give back.”
After starting out shining shoes at his father’s store in Chicago decades ago as a 7-year-old, Palivos became an attorney and performed charitable work as chairman of the Las Vegas-based nonprofit Voice of the Veteran in support of U.S. veterans and their families.
While introducing Palivos, Poppas referred to him as an inspirational leader and said the work done by Voice of the Veteran could be a “model” for other communities around the country.
Berkley, who referred to Palivos as her friend, said she knows that his work to help veterans is meaningful because it “comes from his heart.”
“It’s a pleasure to work with somebody who cares as much as you do,” Berkley told Palivos. “Peter is truly a man of his word. He told me years ago that he was going to step up for our veterans, and he’s done that.”
Palivos said he started hosting welcome-back events for military members and their families over three decades ago. Last year, he and his organization helped put on a “Day of Gratitude” event at Allegiant Stadium, which attracted thousands of military members and their families.
Palivos said he hopes to host an even bigger event at the stadium in June.
“We raised over $4 million at Allegiant Stadium in 2024,” he said. “It was an incredible event. We want to do next year’s event bigger and better. The Las Vegas Raiders have been big supporters of ours — they are a very pro-veteran and pro-military organization.”
Over 100 people attended the Saturday event. Palivos said earning the award also gave him a chance to make a plea to all Americans as the holiday season looms.
“I think our country is in trouble right now because we’re too divided,” Palivos said. “I think about 90 percent of us want the same things, but the crazies, on both the left and the right, have taken over. The logical people are being silenced. My statement is this — let’s make this work because we live in the greatest country in the world.”
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