A Mile and a Promise

There's this young Army National Guard sergeant lying in bed at an Army hospital.

He's really down. He lost his right leg to a landmine in Afghanistan. Lot of hustle and bustle out in the hall. Someone's coming to visit the wounded.

He stops by the young sergeant's bed. They talk. It's a little awkward. What do you say to a guy that loves to run, loves physical activity, and now his leg is gone from the knee down.

But this sergeant tries to be upbeat and he's been told all about prosthetic legs and he has resolved that, dammit, one day he'll run again.

The President is impressed. Tell you what, he says to the sergeant, let's keep in touch and when you're ready to run a mile I'll run it with you.

But, sure enough, a year and a half later, there's this young sergeant in shorts and an Army windbreaker, running on his prosthetic leg. And running beside him? The President of the United States.

The young soldier is named Michael McNaughton, from a little place called Denham Springs, La. And the President is George Bush.

Cynical journalist that I am, my first impulse when hearing about it from a friend was to check those "Urban Legends" pages on the web. It all checks out.

Staff Sgt. McNaughton, of the 769th Engineer Battalion, was helping clear mines near Bagram Air Base, in Afghanistan on January 9, 2003. A mine exploded directly under him. "I closed my eyes for a second going up in the air and then landing on the ground," he recalls. "And that's when I just… I knew exactly what happened."

Blood and shock. His right leg was blown off and the middle and ring fingers of his right hand as well.

Evacuated immediately to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, in Germany, McNaughton was later flown to Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, D.C., to receive follow-on care, begin therapy and be fitted for a prosthetic leg. He had to undergo 11 surgeries on the way to recovery.

One day President Bush came to visit him and other soldiers at the hospital. Fishing for subjects of common interest, the two came to running. That's when the President made his friendly challenge within a promise. Get that new leg working and we'll run. Just call me.

Sgt. McNaughton wasn't sure about "just calling" the President of the United States, but through one of the Walter Reed doctors, the two kept in touch during his months of slow recovery and therapy.

One rainy day this past April, Sgt. McNaughton and his family were guests at the White House. President Bush and the sergeant went up to the weight room on the second floor of the Executive Mansion. There they worked out and chatted for almost an hour. Bush was fascinated by McNaughton's new "leg" and asked many questions about it.

Then they went out in the rain to run. Just the two of them. "I didn't care if it was storming or lightning all around," Sgt. McNaughton later told a Baton Rouge television reporter. "I didn't care. It was nice to run with him."

One of McNaughton's best Army buddies, Capt. Justin P. Dodge, MD, a Flight Surgeon with the 1-2 Aviation Regiment, U.S. Army Medical Corps, was so impressed by what the President did that he sent friends what "almost sounds like a corny email chain letter" about it.

It's "not something you'll see in the news," wrote Capt. Dodge, "but seeing the President taking the time to say thank you to the wounded and to give hope to one of my best friends was one of the greatest/best things I have seen in my life… God bless him."

I've winced more than once when I hear our President speaking in public. He doesn't exactly have the grand style with words. But I've also noticed that he's pretty good at what I'd call just hanging out with people.

Who hasn't stumbled for words, made a lame joke, kind of just bulled their way through an awkward moment at the bedside of someone who is really sick? I know I have.

I don't know the exact words President Bush used when bantering with Sgt. McNaughton.

Calling Sgt. McNaughton ...calling Sgt. McNaughton ...

Now is the Time
to come to the Aid
of your President........

While sKerry has 2 (TWO!) deluded Vets flying all over with him on probably Theeerrraaayyyyza's dime, and while the rest of the crew attempts to break the INK ceiling...

I know I would love to see this man interviewed not only on Fox but on CNN and MCNBC...

Thanks for posting this.

You know, I really dislike being duped by all those phony emails floating around. But hey, this one really does check out!www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/m/mikemcnaughton.htm

Great story...
Bush rocks

"I've winced more than once when I hear our President speaking in public. He doesn't exactly have the grand style with words. But I've also noticed that he's pretty good at what I'd call just hanging out with people."

Man, doesn't that just say it all? I'll take someone who stumbles over his words anyday of the week over some slick, over-rehearsed, phony like Kerry. You can tell that wasn't a photo-op picture, either. GO DUBYA!!

Was just ready to post this and did a google on the doctor to try to verify that it was legit and found someone had already started this thread.

Here's a little larger version of the picture and a salute to our president.

Above is a picture of Mike McNaughton of Denham Springs, LA. He stepped on a land mine in Afghanistan Christmas 2002. President Bush came to visit the wounded in the hospital. He told Mike that when he could run a mile that they would go on a run together. True to his word, he called Mike every month or so to see how he was doing. Well, last week they went on the run, 1 mile with the president. Not something you'll see in the news, but seeing the president taking the time to say thank you to the wounded and to give hope to one of my best friends was one of the greatest/best things I have seen in my life. It almost sounds like a corny email chain letter, but God bless him.

Justin CPT Justin P. Dodge, MD Flight Surgeon, 1-2 AVN RGT Medical Corps, U.S. Army

This doesn't surprise me about President Bush. He is working hard to protect us by trying to make sure we are not blown up by Bin Ladin or Saddam. He is searching for bombs and weapons of mass destruction and doing other positive things for our country, plus takes time to do what he did for Mike McNaughton,who was wounded while serving in the U.S. Army in Afghanistan..President Bush is a compassionate man and cares for our Nation. He cares about doing the right thing, while Kerry runs around spreading junk and lying about what he would do if he was in the White House. Bush wants all people to be treated equal, Kerry targets certain groups, wanting their votes, especially if there is controversy surrounding them. Is he for the Federal Marriage Amendment? Or is he riding the fence until he gets the votes he needs. God created Adam & Eve, not Adam & Steve. Marriage should be between a man and a woman only. President Bush is trying to keep the morals of this Nation, which are the morals God set in place for us, in tact.

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