Bush Has Often Met With Wounded Soldiers & Families Of The Fallen

26 Apr, 2004 by John Hawkins

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It’s not unusual to hear anti-Bush partisans carping that the President hasn’t attended the funerals of any of the soldiers killed in Afghanistan & Iraq. But, as most people realize, it’s not as simple for the President to attend a funeral as it is for the rest of us. If the President did show up at a funeral, not only would the families of the fallen have to deal with all the understandable, yet still draconian security procedures put in place by the Secret Service, there would be questions of favoritism (why that guy and not my son) and even a media presence that would likely be unwanted by the families. In short, it’s very impractical for the President to show up at a funeral.

Of course, the Bush haters understand this just like most of the rest of us do, but they’re still willing to try to take advantage of the situation to attack Bush politically. The implication here is that Bush doesn’t go to funerals of the fallen because he doesn’t want to face families that have lost someone he sent to war or perhaps that he’s afraid he’ll run into some of the soldier’s buddies who were wounded overseas and are back home to see their friend off.

However, that’s simply not true and just to prove it, I decided to do a little research on the “blogger’s best friend” (AKA Google). It took me less than 10 minutes to pull up the following…

“As looting and sporadic firefights continued in and around the Iraqi capital, Bush and First Lady Laura Bush visited 40 wounded soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and 33 others at Bethesda Naval Hospital, both in suburban Maryland just a short drive from the White House. One of the soldiers Bush visited was wounded in the fighting in Afghanistan.” — Chicago Tribune, April 12, 2003

“President Bush held a rare meeting Monday with families of fallen soldiers, spending close to two hours hugging and listening tearfully to survivors at a military base that has been among the nation’s hardest hit by casualties in Iraq.

Bush met privately with 98 relatives of 26 lost soldiers after offering condolences and encouragement at a rally of 5,000 camouflage-clad, flag-waving military members and families from throughout Colorado. With the survivors grouped in four rooms, Bush autographed mementos as he heard the stories about their loved ones. One father told the president that his son “died for freedom,” according to a Bush aide.” — WAPO, Nov 25, 2003

“White at Fort Polk, Bush also visited privately with families of troops who were killed in Iraq.” — The Washington Times, Feb 17, 2004

“Later Friday, Bush and first lady Laura Bush visited privately with soldiers and their families at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. It marked their third visit in six months to the Bethesda, Maryland, facility.

After the visit, Bush praised the soldiers for their “strong” spirit and “terrific” attitude.

“Several soldiers told me today, badly injured soldiers, that they want to get well quickly, and get back on their duty stations in Iraq,” Bush said. “They want to serve our nation, and it’s so refreshing and great to be here.” — CNN, March 20, 2004

George W. Bush DOES MEET with soldiers who’ve been wounded in combat and families who’ve lost loved ones in Iraq and Afghanistan. And if anyone tries to tell you otherwise, they simply don’t know what they’re talking about…