This is what makes me so proud of President Bush. And the Marines.
They looked each other in the eye — President Bush and U.S. Marine Cpl. Anthony Gower of Bethel Park.
“The President said, ‘Anthony, thank you for what you’ve done,’ ” Gower said. “I told him, ‘My honor, sir.’ I thought, ‘Is this really happening to me?’ ”
Gower met the president yesterday at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., where Bush received a glowing report after his annual checkup.
Gower, 34, wasn’t doing as well, but much better than July 19, when a bomb planted by insurgents exploded and nearly ripped off his arm while he, 15 fellow members of his squad and six members of the Iraqi army were on an early-evening patrol in Hit, Western Iraq.
Six soldiers were badly injured.
Damn hero’s. To be over in Iraq, to have survived this stuff and to hold such a positive attitude…I stand in awe of them all.
“My arm was hanging by a thread, a single muscle, and my bone was shattered,” Gower said during a phone interview yesterday afternoon. “I thought I’d loose it.”
He won’t, fortunately, thanks to a quick medical evacuation, two surgeries overseas and, finally, the care he’s receiving at the Bethesda medical facility.
Although his bones are pinned, his muscles are reattached and external devices are stablizing the arm, Gower can use his elbow and fingers. He expects to be home in about a week to continue convalesence and therapy.
It is amazing what modern tech and therapy can do for wounded soldiers. Rehab has a whole new meaning during these times.
Gower told Bush all about it, while members of his family stood by.
“I was teary-eyed and I saw that he was, too,” Gower said, describing how Bush read the Purple Heart certificate and then pinned the cherished medal on Gower’s Marine Corps T-shirt.
“He really did care. He’s concerned about the troops over there. He has feelings for us and respects what we’ve done.”
The formalities over, Bush didn’t run off. They chatted and took photos for another 10 minutes — Bush and Gower; Bush and Gower’s 21/2-year-old daughter, Brianna; and Bush and other Gower family members on hand: his father, William Gower Jr. of Coco, Fla., his wife Dawn Henchell and Dawn’s sister, Michelle Niedermeyer, of Clairton.
“It was pretty much friendly talk, like how’s the family, how’s things at home,” Gower said. “He definitely showed character.”
President Bush doesn’t just make small talk. He really cares and everytime I read one of these stories, it’s the same reaction from everyone. BUSH IS A REAL PERSON. I like that so much. Real people do shed tears and don’t hide that. They aren’t afraid to show their human side.
