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cmbell
02-16-04, 11:14 PM
At Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington DC recently the Sergeant Major of the Army, Jack Tilley, was with a group of people visiting the wounded soldiers. He saw a Special Forces soldier who had lost his right hand and suffered severe wounds of his face and side of his body. The Sergeant Major of the Army wanted to honor him and show him respect without offending, but what can you say or do in such a situation that will encourage
and uplift? How do you shake the right hand of a soldier who has none? There was a man in that group of visitors who had his wife with him to visit the wounded. He seemed to knew exactly what to do. This man reverently took the soldiers stump of a hand in both of his hands, knelt at the bedside and prayed for him. When he finished the prayer, he stood up, bent over the soldier and kissed him on the head and told him that he loved him. A powerful
expression of love and Christ-like example, for one of our wounded heroes.

What kind of a man would do such a thing?


The wounded man's Commander-in-Chief, George W. Bush; President of the U.S.A.

(This story was told by the Sergeant Major of the Army, at a Soldiers' Breakfast held at Red Arsenal, AL, and recorded by Chaplain James Henderson, stationed there.):emark:

VMGRMech
02-16-04, 11:30 PM
Awesome...just hope its not another urban legend

namgrunt
02-17-04, 01:08 AM
Simply Amazing.

I was curious about whether it was an urban legend, as VMGRMech wondered. A google search for "Sergeant Major of the Army"+"Red Arsenal" brought results. There are 120 hits for this search . The first website tried is about chain letters, at www.breakthechain.org. The following is explanatory text found below an almost exact copy of the story posted above.

[quote]
From what we know of Bush's character, this story is not hard to believe. It shares many parallels with previous testimonials about his encounters with a soldier burned in the Pentagon attack of September 11 and a missionary in China. While the facts in those cases bore themselves out (more or less) over time, the chain letters containing them quickly changed from their original forms, thus diminishing their validity. The account above first apeared on the 'net in late April, 2003. While it is based in fact, it demonstrates what can happen to a story as it is retold over and over.

The Office of the Sergeant Major of the Army (SMA) confirms that Tilley and President Bush visited Walter Reed Medical Center in April, 2003, and both met with the unnamed special forces soldier who had lost his right hand. However, they were never there together. The President and Mrs. Bush toured the Center and the National Naval Medical Center on April 12, 2003. Tilley was at Walter Reed several days earlier. Tilley's account of the encounter between Bush and the wounded soldier was relayed to him by yet another unidentified special services soldier who was at the hospital when the President visited.

According to the SMA's office, upon being saluted by the wounded soldier, Bush gently held the soldier's bandaged arm, said "God Bless You," then kissed him on the forehead. An SMA spokesman called the rest of the chain letter "a well-woven embellishment."

The assertion that the mainstream press will not run stories showing Bush in a positive, spiritual light is a common notion among frustrated Bush supporters, but it was not originally part of the message above. It has been tacked on by an anonymous, well-meaning forwarder. What that person fails to mention is that none of the major conservative, decidedly pro-Bush media outlets have reported this story either. Unfortunately, it's often hard to tell the original content from notes and changes added as e-mail chain letters circulate - which is one more reason you should break this chain.
[end quote]

The best way to confirm validity is to check this and other hits out for yourselves. I thank CMBell for posting this inspiring story. If it is true, then it is good to know. Snopes.com says it is not true. You decide for yourselves.

namgrunt

cmbell
02-17-04, 02:02 PM
Thanks namgrunt for shedding some light on this! I found it rare and interesting so thought I'd share and see what everyone else thought!

What I do know is that he did fly into a war zone to celebrate with our troops over Christmas. Amazing man.

Sparrowhawk
02-17-04, 03:26 PM
Originally posted by namgrunt
Simply Amazing.

"According to the SMA's office, upon being saluted by the wounded soldier, Bush gently held the soldier's bandaged arm, said "God Bless You," then kissed him on the forehead."

namgrunt

If that's the real summery of the truth, it show's respect from our Commander-in-Chief for a soldiers service and sacrifice for having done what he was called to do.

I don't think, any of the presidential candiadates would be the type to kiss a soldier on the forehead, much less, say, "God Bless you."

SF

Cook

namgrunt
02-17-04, 03:27 PM
cmbell <br />
I agree. That is what makes this story plausible. He has done this sort of close contact with others who have served or are still serving here and abroad. It did my heart good when I saw...

GySgtRet
02-17-04, 06:36 PM
namgrunt,

AMEN brother. Clinton was only comfortable trying to get away with stuff in the OVAL Office when only one person was there. I support PRESIDENT BUSH 100%.

Semper Fidelis

wayne553
02-17-04, 07:18 PM
I'm a Bush man,always have been.My MRS. works at WAl-mart and Barbara has talked to her 4-5 times Nice family I belive, Only thing they never asked me to go fishing

wc

cmbell
02-18-04, 12:49 PM
I got to hear Bush do a speach at Camp Pendelton durring the energy crisis in California sometime in '01. After his speech he went around and tried to meet as many marines as he could. It was quite impressive. He also seemed very intelligent and well informed. I really don't think he gets the respect or recognition that he deserves from the press.