President Reaches Out to Servicemen
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
CAMP DAVID, Md. — President Bush, who visited troops in Iraq on Thanksgiving after the American invasion in 2003, called several servicemen and women yesterday to extend best wishes and say it was “the least I can do.”
Three of those receiving holiday greetings are in the Army, two are Marines, three are in the Air Force, two serve in the Coast Guard, and two in the Navy. The troops called are serving in Iraq, Afghanistan, and aboard ship, the White House press secretary, Dana Perino, said.
“He called to wish the members of the military and their families and the troops that they are serving with a happy Thanksgiving. He said, ‘I can’t tell you how impressed I am by the courage and compassion of our troops.” He thanked them for their service,” Ms. Perino said.
The president asked for God’s blessings on the members of the military, Ms. Perino said. He said he was thankful to be commander in chief of the finest military ever assembled and told them, “calling you is the least I can do because I admire the military so much.”
