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President makes visit to Spokane, Fort Lewis

Jun-18-2004 » Filed Under: General Military

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OLYMPIAN STAFF, NEWS SERVICES

It's been 62 years since a U.S. president visited Fort Lewis, but George W. Bush arrived there Thursday night with plans to address soldiers today.

It's a visit some soldiers and their families see as a convenient morale-boosting stop he couldn't pass up.

"I think it's sort of a footnote for him to come here," said Sgt. Kenneth Krook, who is a member of the 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, the Army's second Stryker brigade, which could be called to Iraq soon.

Krook is one of a select group of soldiers Bush planned to speak to this morning at the base just south of Tacoma.

The Los Angeles Times also was reporting Thursday evening that Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) would appear today with the president both at Fort Lewis and in Nevada -- appearances likely to finally squelch speculation that he might run as the vice presidential candidate on a Democratic ticket headed by Sen. John Kerry. [...]

During today's events, Bush is scheduled to meet and recognize Nadine Gulit of Issaquah, one of the co-founders of Operation Support Our Troops, which has shipped care packages overseas and organized numerous overpass rallies in appreciation of service members in Iraq.

The White House called Gulit about the meeting last week, but she thought the caller was a solicitor and she requested a call back in a half-hour. Gulit didn't want to be bothered as she worked on an upcoming OSOT activity, said her daughter, Sheryl Sheaffer.

"When it comes to the troops and OSOT, we are very focused," she said.

Sheaffer will accompany her mother during her meeting with Bush. "I would hope I get to see the president," she said. "I've never seen one before, except on TV."


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