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Former President George W. Bush and Mrs. Laura Bush made a private visit to Darnall Army Medical Center at Ft. Hood Friday evening. The former president and first lady visited with soldiers wounded in the incident on Thursday, as well as some of their family members.

<p>FORT HOOD, Texas (AP) ― Former President George W. Bush and his wife, Laura, visited wounded soldiers and their families near the site of the worst mass shooting on an Army post in the United States.</p> <p>The Bushes made their private visit to Fort Hood's Darnall Army Medical Center on Friday night. Bush spokesman David Sherzer said in an e-mail that the couple thanked Fort Hood's military leaders and hospital staff for the "amazing care they are providing."</p>

FORT HOOD, Texas (AP) ― Former President George W. Bush and his wife, Laura, visited wounded soldiers and their families near the site of the worst mass shooting on an Army post in the United States. The Bushes made their private visit to Fort Hood's Darnall Army Medical Center on Friday night. Bush spokesman David Sherzer said in an e-mail that the couple thanked Fort Hood's military leaders and hospital staff for the "amazing care they are providing."

<p>WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is pushing back a trip to Capitol Hill aimed at discussing the proposed health care overhaul with lawmakers.</p> <p>Obama had planned to head to the Capitol on Friday. Now the White House schedule shows Obama planning to visit the Capitol on Saturday.</p>

White House officials tell ABC News that President Obama will visit with wounded soldiers tomorrow at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. The trip was scheduled before the incident today at Fort Hood, officials said. President Obama visited wounded troops at Walter Reed as president-elect in January and has visited wounded troops at Bethesda Naval Hospital as senator. Last week the president made a secret late-night journey to Dover Air Force Base to participate in the dignified transfer of troops and DEA agents killed in Afghanistan. He is in the midst of making up his mind about a new strategy in...

Walter Reed, Week 236, 10/23/09, and Week 237, 10/30/09, Twas’ the Night Before: The US Marine Marathon and Halloween FRONT GATE NOTES October 23, 2009, the Feisty Few Standing Tall Weddings, Support the Troops events, illness and birthdays took their toll on this breezy cool evening, but the feisty few stood tall on the four corners all evening. Drivers were honking their support all evening. One driver even rolled down his window and gave an unsolicited donation. (It will be used to support the troops). Right around 9pm two new big buses arrived with soldiers.: One from the NNMC (National...

Week 233 (Oct 2) Week 232 (Sep 25) [Mr] Trooprally Me and Fraxinus Cindy-True-Supporter RonGKirby Week 233 (Oct 2)   Week 232 (Sep 25) CTS and Dennis from Families United [Mrs]texaschip Sep 25: A woman pulled over and asked Dennis does he think "we", meaning herself and her ilk, don’t support the troops. Cindy suggested she pull into the parking lot to talk. So she did and they talked for about 30 minutes. She had an Obama sticker on her car window. Said she graduated from Howard University. She said we don’t read enough to see how good Obama...

Yesterday, a squad of Navy SEALs engaged in combat operations in Afghanstan had several men badly wounded by RPG explosions. Freeper "Wardaddy" is related to one of them. Navy SEAL Bryan Stuart is Wardaddy's close cousin's son. He has been medevaced to Germany for surgery. Other details are sketchy as of yet.

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On the eighth anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attack on America, a band of patriots were on a special mission at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, in Washington, DC, with America’s wounded warriors. Their mission, the brainchild of 69-year old, decorated Vietnam veteran, George Samek, was to help the wounded warriors’ recovery by providing them with donated laptops with webcams.

Last Friday, September 11 2009, somewhere around 500 patriots gathered outside of Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington DC. It was the largest number of people that we have had there since Free Republic started holding vigils there in early 2005. Certainly also a lot more than the dozen or so we usually get on a Friday night! I am just going to go straight off to the photos you are interested in the most; the ones from when the crowd was at it's maximum: The whole event had a festival atmosphere. We set up tents in the small...

Walter Reed - Weeks 228 and 229, August 28 and September 4, 2009; Friday Evening 9/11 – Next Week, Join Us FRONT GATE NOTES Next Friday, 9/11, Please Join Us Two weeks of great weather have set the stage for a great rally this Friday, 9/11. Many patriotic groups are gathering this week in Washington to protest growing taxes and increasingly intrusive government programs. These groups encourage fiscal responsibility and limited government. Elected representatives who are out of touch with their constituents will find it hard to ignore the tens of thousands constituents on Washington DC streets. They won’t be...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 4, 2009 – Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates used the strongest terms in trying to persuade the Associated Press to refrain from running a graphic picture of a Marine taken shortly after the servicemember was wounded in southern Afghanistan, Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell said here today. Lance Cpl. Joshua M. Bernard later died on the operating table Aug. 14. The Marine’s family in New Portland, Maine, asked the Associated Press not to run the photo, which was taken by Julie Jacobson, who was embedded with the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marines, in Afghanistan’s Helmand province. The AP put...

14 & 21 August 2009 Elder Street and Georgia Avenue, Washington, DC On 14 August Mrs T spotted an Azzhat poster with the words, “Thank God for IEDs” printed on it. She didn’t get a picture of it so you’ll just have to take her word. My experience says her word is pretty damn good. On 21 August we had weather make up all around us and it finally cut loose. I wanted to go down the street and pass out soap but Mrs T wanted to have a wet tee shirt contest. Without any beer it was hard to...

In late 2004, Nicks began visiting Army and Navy medical centers in Washington, D.C. While visiting wounded service men and women, Nicks became determined to find an object she could leave with each soldier that would raise their spirits, motivate, and give them something to look forward to each day. She eventually decided to purchase hundreds of iPod Nanos, load them with music, artists, and play-lists which she would hand select, and autograph them. She now regularly delivers these tokens of her appreciation, bringing her closest friends to share the experience. In 2006, Nicks held a get-together to raise money...

A gunshot ripped through the darkness and a young British soldier fell dying on FOB Jackson. I was just nearby talking on the satellite phone and saw the commotion. The soldier was taken to the medical tent and a helicopter lifted him to the excellent trauma center at Camp Bastion. That he made it to Camp Bastion alive dramatically improved his chances. But his life teetered and was in danger of slipping away. Making matters worse, the British medical system back in the United Kingdom did not possess the specialized gear needed to save his life. Americans had the right...

Being a member of the largest graduating class in the history of the State of Florida means that Scott Speicher's remains were received by large number of my former classmates today. His memorial procession traced through my childhood streets and high school, past the familiar bastions of Naval Bases--familiar but never taken for granted-- and to a final home of rest in his native country. Although I may have had a passing acquaintance with Scott within the walls and classes of my school, I cannot claim a long-past connection with him in the close confines of a small west-side community...

August 9, 2009 Amputee Private Matt Woollard plans return to fight Taliban Michael Smith [Pic in URL] A BRITISH soldier who had part of his leg blown off by a landmine is preparing to return to Afghanistan to settle “unfinished business” with the Taliban. Private Matt Woollard, 20, is expected to be the first British infantryman to return to the front line after being fitted with a prosthetic limb. Woollard, a member of 1st Battalion, the Royal Anglian Regiment, lost his lower right leg after setting off an insurgent bomb while on patrol near Kajaki in May 2007. His heart...

I waited a week for this...You heard alot about this on the radio, the video has finally surfaced, this is probably on of the best videos you will experience, I promise...

MIAMI — Since Irwin Stovroff was profiled a week ago on FOXNews.com, the decorated WWII veteran has received thousands of positive letters for his non-profit organization, Vets Helping Heroes, which provides service and therapy dogs to wounded veterans returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan. "It is unbelievable," Stovroff said about the growing mountain of support that also include thousands of hits on his Web site, numerous phone calls and — most significantly — tens of thousands of dollars in donations for his cause. "I just can't believe it. It has been overwhelming," he said of the generous response he's received....

~ The FReeper Canteen Presents ~Happy 77th to the Purple Heart Canteen Mission StatementShowing support and boosting the morale ofour military and our allies militaryand the family members of the above.Honoring those who have served before. President George W. Bush shakes the hand of Marine Cpl. Andrew L. Tinsley of Annapolis, Md., Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2005, after Cpl Tinsley was presented the Purple Heart during a visit by the President and Laura Bush to the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. White House photo by Paul Morse. The Purple Heart is an American decoration-the oldest military decoration in...

Walter Reed - Weeks 220 and 221, July 17 and 24, 2009; New Buses For Wounded Warriors New Buses, Wounded Warriors, and BirthdaysAnother great night to be at the Front Gate of Walter Reed.. Good camaraderie and good weather. And, as is the norm, many passengers in cars waved and drivers honked showing their support of the troops and their families. Slipping beneath our radar on the 17th was the fact that the Big Bus, returning wounded warriors and their families from the Friday Night dinner hosted by one of several restaurants in the DC area, had been replaced by...

MIAMI — No one knows first hand the horrors of war more than World War II hero Irwin Stovroff. That's why when Stovroff — who was held for one year in a Nazi POW camp before being freed by allied forces — learned that the U.S. government didn't supply service dogs for wounded soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, the 85 year old decorated hero from Boca Raton, Fla. made it his mission to overhaul the policy -snip-

Legionnaire Frank is the second Vet and dear friend of the Olney Patriots to pass away this summer. Clyde passed away in early May and now Frank. Frank passed away this past Tuesday after a blood disorder finally got the best of him. Thankfully he passed away quickly and in comfort, with his family around him. The last time Frank was out supporting the troops was June 6th, D-Day. He is shown BELOW with his sign special made for Olney. That’s Lurker Bill next to him and Glenn, our WWII Iwo Jima Marine in the back ground.. This is his...

CHULA VISTA, Calif., July 22, 2009 – Army Sgt. Jerrod Fields hasn’t just learned to adapt as an amputee since hitting a roadside bomb in Iraq. He is on his way to becoming a record-holding sprinter. Army Sgt. Jerrod Fields, an Army World Class Athlete Program sprinter and Paralympic hopeful, works out at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif. A below-the-knee amputee, Fields won a gold medal in the 100 meters with a time of 12.15 seconds at the Endeavor Games in Edmond, Okla., on June 13, 2009. U.S. Army photo by Tim Hipps  (Click photo for screen-resolution...

WASHINGTON, July 22, 2009 – A wounded airman and his wife plan to use the lessons they’ve learned about marriage and friendship through military service and adversity to help servicemembers who might be struggling after deployment or injury. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Matthew Slaydon – an explosive ordinance disposal technician who was severely wounded in Iraq – and his wife, Annette, hope to use their experience to help servicemembers and their families cope with deployment and injuries. U.S. Air Force photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Matthew Slaydon was wounded Oct. 24, 2007, while inspecting...

WASHINGTON, July 22, 2009 – Sounds of dribbled basketballs and players’ shouts filled the Wagner Gym at Walter Reed Army Medical Center here yesterday, but absent were the thuds and squeaks of players running up and down the court. A member of the National Naval Medical Center team shoots during a wheelchair basketball tournament at Wagner Sports Center, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, D.C., July 21, 2009. DoD photo by William D. Moss  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Replacing them at the first City Wheelchair Basketball Tournament were the hissing of hands slowing wheelchairs and the clanging as...

Reporting from Spokane, Wash. -- Cpl. Anthony Alegre's unit knew the Humvees they drove through the streets of Ramadi, Iraq, were woefully under-armored. They stuffed sandbags in the doors, but when roadside bombs turned the sand into shrapnel, they began wedging pieces of metal and wood around their seats. No use. The car bomb that hit Alegre's patrol on May 29, 2004, killed three of his fellow Marines and left four pieces of metal in his brain. No one expected the 20-year-old infantryman to survive. The doctor in the Baghdad hospital, unequipped to reattach a piece of his skull that...

WASHINGTON, July 16, 2009 – When Army Staff Sgt. John Bennett got shot by a sniper in Iraq in February 2005, his dreams of competition crumbled along with three vertebrae. Steve McGuire, a now-retired Navy petty officer second class disabled by a motorcycle accident after returning from an Operation Iraqi Freedom deployment, said the National Veterans Wheelchair Games give him an opportunity to share with and learn from other disabled veterans. Photo courtesy of VA  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Looking back over that day in Hawijah, Iraq, the Montana Army National Guardsman feared he’d lost far more than...

There is something in Danny Eaglesfield's pale blue eyes that wasn't there a week ago. He still looks ridiculously young. And, at only 5ft 4in in height, he seems barely tall enough to lift his rifle. But the wide-eyed youthfulness I saw when I first met him on the eve of battle last Friday has been replaced. A loss of innocence? Certainly. For Danny Eaglesfield has experienced a great tragedy this past week. His closest friend, Robbie Laws, was killed by a Taliban rocket as the pair of them travelled in the same vehicle, side by side to the last....

get many of these emails from readers and friends, and got this one below from my Floridian father Ray Jr, (I'm a third). He's a former Notre Dame Grad, Fortune 500 executive who's now a semi retired, Bonita Springs scratch golfing pro, selling real estate on the side down in Florida who's now taking an unwanted break from the field thanks to Obama's economy..

WASHINGTON, July 1, 2009 – A retired Army captain who survived third-degree burns over 30 percent of his body while stationed in Iraq believes that through family, faith and a lot of hard work, anything can be overcome. Retired Army Capt. Alvin Eugene Shell Jr. survived third-degree burns over 30 percent of his body while stationed in Iraq. He credits his family, faith and hard work for his recovery. U.S. Army photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Capt. Alvin Eugene Shell Jr., who served with the 16th Military Police Brigade, credits his wife, Danielle, his three sons, his mother...

WASHINGTON (Army News Service, June 29, 2009) -- Wounded Soldiers sent home from overseas are greeted by their own before they are even off the plane at Andrews Air Force Base, Md. The Army’s wounded are welcomed back to the country by a team of three Soldiers from the U.S. Army Military District of Washington: the Medical Evacuation to CONUS Hospitals team. Col. James Conaway, Master Sgt. Jon Taylor and Master Sgt. Juan Reyna act as advocates and liaisons for wounded Soldiers transitioning back to the United States. “We help to coordinate, communicate and just take care of all the...

JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq, June 29, 2009 – Six wounded soldiers, all amputees, returned here last week hoping to close the door on the combat that changed them forever. Left to right; U.S. Army Sgt. Robert Brown, retired Staff Sgt. Bradley Gruetzner, and Sgt. Christopher A. Burrell, soldiers wounded in combat while deployed to Iraq, walk through “Hero’s Highway” at Air Force Theater Hospital before returning to Camp Victory after a visit to Joint Base Balad, Iraq, June 25, 2009. Brown, Gruetner, Burrell, and four other soldiers had the opportunity to return to Iraq and to visit the places they...

NEW HOPE, Minnesota, JUNE 22, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Father Timothy Vakoc, an Army chaplain who was injured in Iraq in 2004, passed away Saturday at the age of 49. The priest's personalized CaringBridge Web site reported that he was "surrounded by family and friends who prayed him into heaven" at St. Therese nursing home in New Hope He was wounded on May 29, the 12th anniversary of his priestly ordination, when his humvee was struck by roadside bomb while returning from celebrating Mass for the soldiers in Mosul. The chaplain was transported through Germany back to Washington D.C., having lost an...

No direct impact caused Paul McQuigg’s brain injury in Iraq three years ago. And no wound from the incident visibly explains why Mr. McQuigg, now an office manager at a California Marine base, can get lost in his own neighborhood or arrive at the grocery store having forgotten why he left home. But his blast injury — concussive brain trauma caused by an explosion’s invisible force waves — is no less real to him than a missing limb is to other veterans. Just how real could become clearer after he dies, when doctors slice up his brain to examine any...

President Obama Visits Wounded Troops Posted By Blackfive David Borden Jr. was wounded in Iraq on January 19, 2008. A suicide bomber rushed him and detonated, and Borden was hit by over 200 pieces of shrapnel. He lost right leg (below the knee) and his left arm was severely damaged. He was in a coma for over a month. He's inspired more than a few people while recovering. The NY Giants football team reports that he's the grandson of a NY Giant. According to the email below from his father, David Borden (Sr.), David Jr. had an uninspiring visit from...

David Borden Jr. was wounded in Iraq on January 19, 2008. A suicide bomber rushed him and detonated, and Borden was hit by over 200 pieces of shrapnel. He lost right leg (below the knee) and his left arm was severely damaged. He was in a coma for over a month. He's inspired more than a few people while recovering. The NY Giants football team reports that he's the grandson of a NY Giant. According to the email below from his father, David Borden (Sr.), David Jr. had an uninspiring visit from the President of the United States: Since Dave...

Even when half your skull is missing, life goes on. For ex-soldier Erik Castillo, gravely wounded by mortar fire in Iraq in 2004, life is going better than expected. Five years have passed since he woke up drooling and paralyzed in an Army hospital with a coconut-sized hole in his cranium — an injury from which doctors said he would never fully recover. The road back to some sort of normalcy has been rife with pain and indignity. He's been stared at by strangers, coped with countless surgeries and infections, and battled rage, self-pity and depression. Through it all, he...

WASHINGTON, June 10, 2009 – Many cheering and excited Virginians lined the route of the “Ride 2 Recovery” Memorial Challenge bicycle ride, in which 35 wounded warriors took part last month. Cyclists pose with actor Gary Sinise at the National Memorial Parade in Washington, D.C., May 25, 2009, before Virginia's "Ride 2 Recovery" Memorial Challenge bicycle ride. Fifty cyclists, including 35 wounded warriors, participated in the six-day, 350-mile bicycle ride across Virginia. Courtesy photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. This is the second year the ride was held in Virginia. “The event was very successful,” said John Wordin,...

I just heard from my daughter, Rebecca (his wife). They are trying to remove fragments from the spinal cord. He still has no feelings in the lower legs or feet. He will be coming into Walter Reid next week. Thank you for all your prayers. Dusty was among the 10th Mountain Division soldiers wounded or killed last week in the IED attack.

WASHINGTON, June 5, 2009 – A soldier who was wounded in Iraq is looking for closure for his injuries and a new starting point for his life this week as part of a team attempting to scale North America’s highest peak. Army Spc. Dave Shebib is among four wounded warriors attempting to summit Mt. McKinley, also known as Denali, in Alaska's Denali National Park and Preserve, June 1, 2009. Courtesy photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Army Spc. David Shebib -- along with three other wounded veterans, two peer mentors and a guide -- set out June 1...

    ~The FReeper Canteen Presents~ Road Trip: Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington D. C.  The Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC) is the United States Army's flagship medical center on the east coast of the United States. Located on 113 acres in Washington, D.C., it serves more than 150,000 active and retired personnel from all branches of the military. The center is named after Major Walter Reed (1851-1902), an army physician who led the team which confirmed that yellow fever is transmitted by mosquitoes rather than direct contact. Since its origins, what is now the WRAMC medical...

BufordP and Cindy-True-Supporter Fraxinus Lurker Bill Pics of "not the usual" perps. While we were setting up for Walter Reed, a little excitement happened. About four patrol cars sped around our corner chasing another vehicle and all came to a screeching halt at the entrance to the lot we use to park our cars. During the commotion a couple of fellows coming from Walter Reed entered the lot to retrieve their cars. Since they were unable to leave the parking lot I had a chance to talk to one of the young men. Found out he was from India....

SAN ANTONIO — Sgt. Darron Mikeworth's first glimpse in the mirror was largely a blur. He'd just come out of a drug-induced coma three weeks after a bomber blew up his Humvee in Iraq. Mikeworth awoke in a bed at Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio. He was relieved he still had his arms, legs and ears. But his face was in bad shape, and his left eye was useless. His nose was mostly gone. His top right lip was curled into a snarl, his right jaw was torn and his bottom teeth were wired...

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), lifelong wounds, external and internal, are all real. Thousands of veterans have returned severely wounded and will need daily support for the rest of their lives. It is our country’s duty to care for them and provide them the very best. But, in addition to supplying them the best medical benefits possible, we owe it to these veterans to portray them as the heroes they are and ensure they are honored and accepted -- not feared or scorned -- when they return from the battlefield. These men and women -- wounded or not -- are the...

BAGHDAD – The U.S. military says a suicide bomber has wounded eight U.S. soldiers visiting the mayor of violence-wracked Baqouba city. Iraqi security officials say the bomber was wearing a police uniform and also injured at least nine civilians in Monday's attack. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

For years, the use of unscreened blood transfusions exposed severely wounded servicemembers and other trauma patients in Iraq and Afghanistan to the inherent risk of diseases such as HIV, hepatitis and malaria, according to medical experts who advise the secretary of defense. Battlefield attacks that resulted in mass casualties or severe injuries often overtaxed the military’s blood supply system until 2007, meaning medics collected fresh blood from those on site for emergency treatment of the wounded, the Defense Health Board wrote in a June 2008 report. The unscreened blood transfusions, however, did not meet federal safety standards required of all...

Everyone knows it's Windy! Boy, it was windy! Gusts up to 40 mph. It was our 4th Anniversary and we were going to unveil our new MOAB. Had we put up the MOAB Windy would have... Tripped down the streets of the cityand destroyed it,Smilin' at everybody she sees.But it wouldn't have been funny. Not at all. Windy even captured a moment ... and Cindy's sign ... and sent it sailing right into a little kid in a stroller. Nope, the new MOAB unveiling will have to wait - weather permitting. Honor Roll: Cindy-True-Supporter; [Mr/Mrs] Trooprally; Lurker Bill; RonGKirby;...

New procedures were rushed into theaters of war without rigorous review The U.S. Army has quietly altered or abandoned some of its more experimental medical treatments for troops injured in combat, as advances it once hailed as groundbreaking are foundlargely ineffective or perhaps even dangerous. Advanced battle dressings, a blood-clotting drug, alternative procedures for emergency blood transfusions - each was introduced early in the Iraq war, often with little evidence to support them beyond anecdotes or tests on animals. A few were adopted widely by civilian hospitals, based almost exclusively on accolades from the military. But an investigation by The...