Posted on 07/22/2005 7:20:18 PM PDT by King Prout
Through the old soldier grapevine, my father received the following bit of information. He thought I would like it, and as I don't recall it being posted on any news site I thought y'all would like it as well:
--- Sent: Saturday, 04 June 2005 9:24pm Subject: Fw: NEEDS WIDE DISTRIBUTION
Forwarded in the hopes that you all will give this info maximum distribution.... Suject: Denzel Washington Subject: Brooks Army Medical Center
Don't know whether you heard about this, but Denzel Washington and his family visited the troops at Brooks Army Medical Center, in San Antonio, Texas (BAMC) the other day.
This is where soldiers that have been evacuated from Germany come to be hospitalized in the States, especially burn victims. They have buildings there called Fisher Houses. The Fisher House is a hotel where soldiers' families can stay, for little or no charge, while the soldier is staying in the hospital. BAMC has quite a few of these houses on base but, as you can imagine, they are almost completely filled most of the time.
While Denzel Washington was visiting BAMC, they gave him a tour of one of the Fisher Houses. He asked how much one of them cost to build. He took his check book out and wrote a check for the full amout right there on the spot. The soldiers overseas were amazed to hear this story and want to get the word out to the American public, because it warmed their hearts to hear it.
The question I have is why does Alec Baldwin, Madonna, Sean Penn, and other Hollywood types make front page news with their anti-American crap, and this doesn't even make page 3 in the Metro section of any newspaper except the base newspaper in San Antonio?
ping
Having been stationed there once upon a time...this is where
the most gravely wounded come for rehab and care..
Where visiting is greatly needed
If Mr Washington did this ..he has a great heart indeed..
imo
Check google, he didn't write a check then and there, he wrote one months later. Still a classy guy.
What Denzel Washington Really Did at BAMC
(SAN ANTONIO) -- Officials at Ft. Sam Houston in San Antonio are among the thousands of Americans getting deluged with Internet hoax e-mails claiming actor Denzel Washington 'pulled out his checkbook on the spot' and made a huge donation to help wounded soldiers during a 'recent' visit to wounded soldiers being treated at Brooke Army Medical Center, 1200 WOAI news reported today.
"I just delete them," post spokesman Phil Reidinger said.
The Internet hoax, which is often combined with sarcastic comments criticizing the media for 'not reporting' the non-event, have been headache for the Army, but provide a publicity windfall for Fisher House, a public-private partnership that builds housing for the families of wounded soldiers on the grounds of military and Veterans Administration hospitals nationwide.
The urban legend e-mail, which has picked up steam in the past two weeks, claims Washington was so impressed with the Fisher House efforts that he 'pulled out his checkbook on the spot and wrote a check large enough to pay for construction of a new Fisher House at BAMC.
The e-mail, which incorrectly refers to the hospital as "Brookes" Army Medical Center, also claims that Washington made the donation because his son is a soldier serving in Iraq.
The problem, according to Fisher House President David Coker, is that while Washington did make a 'sizeable' donation to the program, the e-mail claim is almost entirely bogus.
"Denzel came to visit with the soldiers and Marines being cared for at Brooke Army Medical Center last December 17th," Coker said. "He visited with them and told them how much he respects their service. He also toured one of the two Fisher Houses at Brooke Army Medical Center."
Washington told Coker at the time he would like to make a commitment to support the work of Fisher House.
"Denzel did not take out a checkbook and write a check on the spot,"Coker says. "He seldom carries a check book with him."
Coker said Washington did in fact make a sizeable donation to Fisher House several months after his visit to BAMC. He declined to comment on the size of the donation, but it was not enough to build a new Fisher House.
He said while largely incorrect, the e-mail has done much to raise awareness of the Fisher House program.
"We often find that people aren't aware of the services that the Fisher House provides," he said.
He said the fact that Washington, 49, did not write a check 'on the spot' does not diminish his contribution to the Fisher House and his support 'for the men and women who serve our country.'
Washington is also well known as a philanthropist, he has donated $1 milllion to the Children's Fund of South Africa, and $2.5 million to the Church of God.
For the record, according to his official biography, Washington and his wife actress Pauletta Pearson, have two sons. One, John David Washington, is an actor and student at Moorhouse College in Georgia, and the other, Malcolm, is 14 years old.
Denzel is one cool customer...and, from the several things I've read, a great guy all 'round. Wish there were more like him in Hollywood.
bump!
thank you for the corrections.
Dude better Cover his butt.
The NAACP and the Jesse and AL dog and pony show will all claim that he isn't really Black.
and thank you for the corrections.
I wasn't trying to be a smart ***. It's just I keep getting these in my email, constantly. It's such a great story. What a class act.
no, no - I'm serious: I loathe being incorrect, loathe spreading falsehood, and hate being misinformed, so I truly and sincerely thank you for correcting me.
Having said that, I saw John Q and easily understood it to be a blatant press for National Health Care /w occasional hosts at gun ownership.
I can only hope that Denzel was intellectually ignorant of the movie's real motives.
Thanks for the clarification!
side note: it is a sad commentary on the culture of the day that people so commonly bristle when corrected that most cannot easily credit their senses when someone actually thanks them for correcting an error.
Denzel is definately a cool customer....and extremely easy on the eyes.
You're right. I always try remember there are actual people behind the screen name. It doesn't do anything for people to be rude and nasty.
He is one of my top five favorite actors. It's good to know he is one of the good guys.
But he also made Man on Fire which comes out as being very much in favor of taking the fight to those who would do harm.
I didn't know about the donation but I did know for a fact that he was at BAMC. My MIL was there that day.
That part is confirmed, I think he is a class act too. About one of the last actor's that I will go to his movies.
When actors come out and behave the way Danny Glover, Tim Robbins, Susan Sarandon, George Clooney, and others do, they reveal that they are jerks. I've never enjoyed "hanging out" with jerks, and going to see one of their films is for me the equivalent of hanging out with them.
Which is why I'll pay to watch Denzel Washington, Mel Gibson, Bo Derek, or Tom Selleck. But the others? No thanks.
I agree. Plus the liberal movies are pretty bad. The last movie I watched was We Were Soldiers.
Robert Rivard: Phony e-mail is no act of patriotism; it spawns a rumor frenzy
Web Posted: 07/03/2005 12:00 AM CDT
San Antonio Express-News
Some people believe just about anything if it comes via e-mail.
That's why so many poor slobs troll Internet sites for cut-price Rolexes, "real photos" of Britney Spears in the buff or the latest potion that will increase a man's size and self-esteem.
One of the most imaginative scams goes like this: The wife of a deposed Ugandan minister seeks out greedy, gullible Americans willing to let their bank accounts be used to park a tidy $13 million. It gets takers.
Congressmen do not pay Social Security taxes and instead are the beneficiaries of millions of dollars in pension payments. That's found new life years after it first began to circulate.
Then there is the No. 1 urban legend, as measured by snopes.com, the Web site with the fitting slogan, "Rumor has it."
It's about San Antonio, the Express-News and Academy Award-winning actor Denzel Washington. I can almost recite it by heart, although it is curious how some senders feel compelled to touch up the original with their own inside understanding of events.
The New York Post fell for it and published the phony e-mail in its June 22 editions, and has yet to admit its blunder.
In brief, the e-mail is a call to action for conservative, pro-military minded readers to strike a blow against the supposedly anti-military, liberal media here in San Antonio. According to the e-mail, the Express-News ignored Washington's recent visit with wounded soldiers undergoing long-term treatment and rehabilitation at Brooke Army Medical Center in Fort Sam Houston.
Washington attended a Purple Heart ceremony and then visited one of the two Fisher Houses. These facilities provide low-cost housing for family members who want to be close to their hospitalized sons and daughters, many of whom have suffered severe burns or the loss of a limb and require long-term care and rehabilitation.
A deeply moved Washington, the e-mail said, whipped out his checkbook on the spot and handed over a donation to construct a third, $1.5 million Fisher House, an extraordinary philanthropic gesture that the Express-News, unlike the local base newspaper, chose to ignore.
It gets worse. The e-mail notes that the newspaper did give front-page play to the anti-war views of Sean Penn, Alec Baldwin and Madonna. Some versions of the e-mail conclude with the somber note that Washington's son is a Marine serving in Iraq.
Even some of our local readers, whipped into a fury, are demanding an explanation. Washington and his family came here on Dec. 17, 2004. The next morning's front page featured a lead photo of Washington comforting a wounded soldier. It appeared under the headline, "A star with heart." The Metro front was dominated by coverage of the event, with a story by staff writer Scott Huddleston and more photographs by staff photographer Kin Man Hui.
Months later, Washington sent the Fisher House organization an unsolicited "six-figure" donation that neither he nor the group's board want to say more about. If they had said more, you would have read about it in the Express-News.
Washington and his wife were moved by their visit, and they joined the Fisher House board. But he didn't whip out his checkbook and cover the $1.5 million cost. He wasn't even carrying a checkbook the day of his visit. After the gift spawned the misleading e-mail, both Stars and Stripes and Express-News columnist Ed Tijerina published accounts intended to set the record straight. That didn't slow down the conspiracy theorists.
It's also untrue that the aforementioned celebrities made Page 1 with their anti-war views. Penn won a mention in last year's Academy Awards roundup after he won the Oscar for best actor in "Mystic River." Madonna and Baldwin haven't made Page 1 since we invaded Iraq, period.
A million-dollar check for the troops from a handsome, Oscar-winning actor. A subsequent cover-up by the liberal media. Sounds like a movie to me.
A closing word to all who have circulated copies of the e-mail: You could do your friends and the Express-News a service by circulating the truth. How? E-mail this column.
Want to do more? Be like Denzel. Go to fisherhouse.org and make a donation. Make it a big enough check and the Express-News will write about it.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
John Q was not so much about anti-gun - there were few subtle anti-gun shots in it. It was very much about a failed health care system, and why we should have national health care. You do remember all the talking points at the end, by famous liberal talking heads, including the queen of national health care, Hillary Clinton?
As I said, I respect DW as an actor and can only hope that in his role as John Q (public) he was ignorant of its true message.
I think he chooses roles he would like to play rather than being in movies with messages he wants to promote.
I have not seen John Q, but I will stipulate that you are right that it clearly pressed for national health care and gun control. Let's assume that Denzel Washington himself intentionally took that picture because he supports those two political ends. At the end of the day, is it not quite possible to be for universal health coverage and gun control and yet be a firm supporter of our troops? There is no automatic inconsistency.
Love Denzel in "Courage Under Fire" and "Training Day." My wife loves him for, uh other reasons.
thanks for providing the correct images
"thanks for providing the correct images"
Were there incorrect images? These are the only ones I've seen.
I had these images, in the form of B&W printouts.
I didn't put them up, as they would have, well, sucked.
so I thank you for putting up the images.
please be advised that what I posted turns out to be an internet hoax exaggeration of what actually happened - see the various correction posts.
The factual information still makes me pleased with Mr. Washington.
AM, I'm a little non-plussed at this thread's resurrection. Is it possible to insert a note in the header concerning the falsified nature of the initial information, and/or direct folks to see the accurate information which follows?
Thanks for setting the issue straight.
Oh, okay. I thought maybe there were doctored images or something.
You're very welcome.
File traffic over?
What the @%##%$# is that?
Bump for revival! I just got this e-mail. Had never heard anything about it.
Glad to know I am on a few respectable folks e-mail lists!
Some great photos posted in #31.
Please FReepmail me if you want on or off my ‘miscellaneous’ ping list.
I am glad this is not a myth!!!
"side note: it is a sad commentary on the culture of the day that people so commonly bristle when corrected that most cannot easily credit their senses when someone actually thanks them for correcting an error."
King Prout, you are so right! Thank you both, King Prout for the story and Indy Pendance for the correction and thank you both for being humble, nice and kind!
I've not received an email with the urban legend so this was great info. for me. I am very grateful to know when an actor is a good guy. I am very careful what I watch and what I indirectly "finance". Best,
Denzel gave a sizible contribution, not quite what had been reported, but sizible. For that he has my thanks and my respect.
Haven't seen "Glory"....will have to check that out. I own a number of Denzel's movies. Don't know why, but I've always liked this guy. He just doesn't come across like the typical actor. He is a very complex individual. Frankly, I consider him one of the best in Hollywood.
BTW....My favorite of his many films is "Man On Fire"....A must see for Denzel fans.
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