Posted on 05/03/2003 9:17:31 PM PDT by fightinJAG
Flying high: George W. Bush and John and Janette Howard wave to the crowd before boarding Air Force One en route to Texas. Picture: AP
PM at home on the range By MALCOLM FARR in Waco, Texas 04may03
PRIME Minister John Howard yesterday settled into the plush seats of Air Force One, the Texan comforts of a presidential hideaway and what he described as Australia's strongest relationship ever with the United States.
He and his wife, Janette, were given unprecedented hospitality by George W. Bush, who led an inflight guided tour of his Boeing 747 as it headed into the heart of Texas for a night of celebration and gratitude at the Western Whitehouse. They joined the presidential cavalcade in San Francisco after flying from Australia in the Prime Minister's more modest 737.
Mr Bush was still pumped up by the success of his speech the previous day on the carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, in which he declared the battle in Iraq a victory in the war against terrorism.
Mr Howard said the operation by US, British and Australian troops in Iraq had been "a remarkable military victory".
"I can't think of a time in our shared history where the relationship has been stronger than what it is now," Mr Howard said.
He looked forward to his weekend at the home on the range, saying of his host: "I've always found him a very friendly and easy-going bloke."
Onboard Air Force One, Mr Bush gave his tour before disappearing with the Howards to the front compartment for lunch and a private chat.
They landed in Waco, Texas, and transferred to the president's helicopter for the short flight to the Bush ranch, Prairie Chapel - also known as the Western Whitehouse - near the tiny town of Crawford.
The flights were the first of a series of personal favours President Bush will bestow on Mr Howard as part of America's "thank you" for support in the Iraq war.
Only three other government leaders have been invited to stay overnight at the 640ha property Mr Bush bought in 1999 - British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Spanish Prime Minister Jose Aznar. And they all had to make their own way to the ranch.
Last night a small gathering, which included US Ambassador to Australia Tom Scheiffer and his wife Susanne and special presidential adviser Condoleezza Rice, dined at the ranch.
Today the Prime Minister and the President will get down to the business of the weekend with talks on the reconstruction program for Iraq, the role of the United Nations in that process and ways of managing the bristling nuclear ambitions of North Korea.
http://www.jeffhead.com/iraqifreedom/victory.htm
MacArthur had to push them hard to force the Japanese onto the defensive. The only way home was a serious wound that didn't kill you. Few returned home. Guadalcanal came, and the supply situation improved, equipment improved, air support improved by leaps and bounds, but the 32nd had lost heavily. The survivors had suffered from tropical deseases and malnutrition for month after month. Most were less than 100 pounds. And the worst was yet to come.
At every time and place a comparable number of Australians fought alongside the Americans, in the same horrible conditions. The Germans and the Japanese never hooked up. Cost many fine men their lives.
They taught me a game called "Mariette Where Are You?" or "Mariote Where Are You"...anyway, you're blindfolded and swinging a beer bottle at an equally blindfolded bloke who's griping your other hand and swinging for your head.
They also showed me how one man can pick up three.
They've worked with the "Naughies" before in their history.
Great soldiers and tough as nails.
Should have taken R&R in Australia instead of Singapore. I was young and foolish.
I didn't even want R&R, it just presented another chance to screw something up. I was forced to take it, so I grabbed the first thing to come along and it was Japan, in February, in a blizzard.
I had to rent an overcoat at Yakota as I had arrived in a golf shirt and slacks.
Being stationed next to the Australian Army in Vung Tau was a hoot and it was always a pleasure to visit their camp. They livid in Spartan conditions but drove those kewl Land Rovers. The Vietnamese had a song about the Aussies called "Ung De Loi" (Man of the South):
Ung de Loi,
Cheap Charlie!
You give Baby Son to me.
Baby Son cost many many P
Ung de Loi, you cheap Charlie!
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