> > Regardless of Your Political Views
> > >>
> > >>
> > >> This is a small, but true story to give you an idea of the
> > >>kind of man
> > >> and the kind of woman we have in the White House right now.
> > >> As you may know, the President and Mrs. Bush visited the
> > >>Washington
> > >> Burn Center on Friday 14 September. Among those they visited
> > >>was LTC
> > >> Brian Birdwell, who was badly burned in the Pentagon attack.
> > >>Mrs. Bush
> > >> went into Brian's room, spoke to him for about a minute, all
> > >>the time
> > >>as
> > >> if they had been life-long acquaintances.
> > >> She then turned to Brian's wife Mel, who at this time had been
> > >>at the
> > >> hospital for probably 2 1/2 days, and apparently, according to
> > >>Mel
> > >> herself, was dirty, grimy and had blood on her shirt. Mrs.Bush
> > >>hugged
> > >> Mel for what Mel said seemed like an eternity, just as if Mel
> > >>were one
> > >> of her closest family members.
> > >> Mrs. Bush then told Brian and Mel that there was "someone"
> > >>there
> > >> to see
> > >> him. The President then walked in, stood by Brian's bedside,
> > >>asked
> > >> Brian how he was doing, told him that he was very proud of
> > >>them both
> > >> and that they were his heroes. The President then saluted
> > >>Brian. Now,
> > >> at this point in time, Brian is bandaged up pretty well. His
> > >>hands are
> > >> burned very badly as well as the back of him from the head
> > >>down.
> > >> His movements were very restricted. Upon seeing the President
> > >>saluting
> > >> him, Brian began to slowly return the salute, taking, from the
> > >>accounts
> > >> so far, about 15-20 seconds to get his hand up to his head.
> > >>During all
> > >> of this, 15-20 seconds, President Bush never moved, never
> > >>dropped his
> > >> salute. The President dropped his salute only when Brian was
> > >>finished
> > >> with his, and then gave Mel a huge hug for what also probably
> > >>seemed
> > >> like an eternity.
> > >> As a note to those of you who might not be familiar with
> > >>military
> > >> protocol, the subordinate normally initiates a salute and will
> > >>hold it
> > >> until the superior officer returns the salute. In the above
> > >>incident,
> > >> President Bush acted in the role of the subordinate to show
> > >>his
> > >>respect
> > >> and high regard for the injured man.
> > >> No further comments. Pray for our leadership. Thank God for
> > >> what we
> > >> are, have, and will be.
> > >> Major Carl "Ferris" Buhler, USAF
> > >> Air Force Executive Issues Team
> >
> >
> >
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