WASHINGTON — Charlie Sifford is a man of few words, but on Monday he was nearly moved to tears.

Nearly.

Decades of fighting, breaking barriers and enduring the slings and arrows of discrimination can build an immunity to displays of emotion.

On Monday, Sifford, 92, a retired golfer, allowed himself to smile. And why not?

He was among an illustrious group of 18 recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor. There was Stevie Wonder close by, Meryl Streep behind him, Isabel Allende and Ethel Kennedy down the row to his right. All had contributed to the nation’s cultural richness. Sifford had broken barriers.

In 1961, he became the first African-American to join the PGA Tour, ending an arduous climb that had begun decades earlier as a caddie.