Posted on 09/17/2004 3:07:34 PM PDT by NewMediaFan
WASHINGTON - A packet of Texas Air National Guard records newly released Friday showed that the commanding officer of President Bush (news - web sites)'s basic training unit took a special interest in him as a trainee and wrote to his father to praise his son.
Bush's father, then a congressman from Texas, said in reply to the commander, "That a major general in the Air Force would take interest in a brand new Air Force trainee made a big impression on me."
Bush went on to say that his son "will be a gung ho member" of the Air Force and that Air Force instructors had "helped awaken the very best instincts in my son."
The letter and other material were the latest in a stream of documents released about Bush's service three decades ago during the Vietnam War, when Bush's critics say he got preferential treatment as the son of a congressman and U.N. ambassador. Critics have also questioned why Bush skipped a required medical examination in 1972 and failed to show up for drills during a six-month period that year.
(Excerpt) Read more at story.news.yahoo.com ...
Gee, how sinister...a letter from his dad...(/sarcasm)
Non-story.
GREAT STORY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If anything, this incicates all the more that there was no undue influencing going on.
In addition to the letter from Bush's father, the latest documents contain news releases that the Texas Air National Guard sent to Houston newspapers in 1970 about young Bush, then a second lieutenant and new pilot. "George Bush (news - web sites) is one member of the younger generation who doesn't get his kicks from pot or hashish or speed," the news release said. "Oh, he gets high, all right, but not from narcotics."
Three decades later, a new book by Kitty Kelley has alleged that Bush used cocaine while he was a student at Yale University and later at Camp David while his father was president.
AP is a piece of crap!!!!!!
In addition to the letter from Bush's father, the latest documents contain news releases that the Texas Air National Guard sent to Houston newspapers in 1970 about young Bush, then a second lieutenant and new pilot. "George Bush (news - web sites) is one member of the younger generation who doesn't get his kicks from pot or hashish or speed," the news release said. "Oh, he gets high, all right, but not from narcotics." Three decades later, a new book by Kitty Kelley has alleged that Bush used cocaine while he was a student at Yale University and later at Camp David while his father was president.
Kelley's source for this allegation has denied telling Kelley this. Even the Today Show thouroughly discredited Kelley on this. But the AP is repeating it as if it is fact.
Damn liberal media.
We both highlighted the same passage......they smeared him with the drug charge.....AP is vile.
Your turn, JFK.
I worked for the Air Force and lost track of the numbers of letters that were sent to family telling them their son was doing a terrific job. Shame on all my bosses for letting family members know how well their child was doing in the Air Force -- guess they showed favortism.
What I cannot figure out is what TANG is still doing with these files after all these years. Do they not clean out their official files after so long? Guess they didn't get that 3" document on Paperwork Management that the rest of us had to plow through back in those years. :)
BTW letters like this should not be in his official file but in the office's official files.
anybody want to tell AP this is a stupid story and that to throw in Kitty Kelly is bad bad bad bad
info@ap.org
From MSNBC a few days ago, possibly a week. Am trying to track down entire article:
“Previous requests from other requesters for President Bush’s Individual Flight Records did not lead to the discovery of these records because at the time President Bush left the service, flight records were subject to retention for only 24 months and we understood that neither the Air Force nor the Texas Air National Guard retained such records thereafter,” the Defense Department told the AP.
“Out of an abundance of caution,” the government “searched a file that had been preserved in spite of this policy” and found the Bush records, the letter said. “The Department of Defense regrets this oversight during the previous search efforts.”
My husband still has one of the letters that was sent to his parents, and yes it was typed on a manual typewriter.
A commendation from a General!
Wow, how is THAT supposed to be bad???
At least these are from the Pentagon and not CBS news. :-)
Nice parental letter from a proud father about his son who is in the AIR FORCE and who came home raving about it. I especially like the last paragraph.
"Bush's father, then a congressman from Texas, said in reply to the commander, "That a major general in the Air Force would take interest in a brand new Air Force trainee made a big impression on me."
Bush went on to say that his son "will be a gung ho member" of the Air Force and that Air Force instructors had "helped awaken the very best instincts in my son."
"I was surprised and very, very pleased to receive your letter of Aug. 27th," Bush wrote, adding that he was impressed that a senior officer would take interest in a new trainee.
"Naturally, as a father I was pleased to read your comments about George," Bush wrote. "He is anxiously looking forward to going to flight school and with parental pride, I do have the feeling that he will be a gung ho member of the U.S. Air Force. I think that he will make a good pilot as well."
The letter went on to say that young Bush, on his first trip back home, was full of enthusiasm and kept the family up talking about his first instructor, Sgt. Henry Onacki, who had impressed Bush with his love of country and dedication to the Air Force.
"In this day and age when it has become a little bit fashionable to be critical of the military, I was delighted to see him return to our house with a real pride in the service and with a great respect for the leaders that he had encountered at Lackland."
The big news isn't that a Major General writes Congressman Bush, but rather that Congressman Bush writes bakc about a Sgt. Tells you what kind of family they are. No one gets any "points" by praising a Sgt.
"What I cannot figure out is what TANG is still doing with these files after all these years."
I think this was on file in Lackland. Which is one reason why it did not come out with the Tx NG files. And that HAS to be why Burkett did not find them in the trash can! ;)
"Whoa....I thought the Rats proved he wasn't in the AF. <\sarcasm off>"
Good one! Has anyone peeked at what the DUmmies are saying about this? No doubt they will see it in a nefarious light . . .
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