[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1994, Book I)]
[March 25, 1994]
[Pages 553-554]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks and an Exchange With Reporters at Fort Bragg, North Carolina
March 25, 1994

Air Collision at Pope Air Force Base

    The President. First of all, I'd like to thank General Shelton and 
General Steele and General Davis for welcoming me here and for giving me 
an opportunity not only to review the site of the crash but also to go 
into this hospital and to see not only a good number of the soldiers who 
were injured but also the people who have been up virtually nonstop for 
the last 2 days caring for them.
    I found it deeply moving. In the first place, the morale of the 
people who have been burned and injured is high. Their pride in their 
work and in their country is very strong. And what everybody said about 
the quality of care they've gotten and the outpouring of effort that has 
been made to help them deal with their problem has been very moving. 
Person after person after person said, ``You know, I just can't wait to 
get back to my work. I'm ready to serve again.''
    It was a deeply moving thing. I'm very grateful to them for their 
service and to all of those who have cared so well for them.
    Q. Mr. President, can you tell us what you talked about or what you 
said to some of those who you saw today?
    Mr. President. A lot of times we just made small talk. I asked them 
where they were from, how long they had been in the Army, what happened. 
They talked about it a little bit.
    I was especially moved--I met a man and his wife who were both in 
the incident, both in the service, both injured. The man was injured 
because he was putting the fire out on his wife. And a lot of these 
young people were injured because they, instead of taking themselves to 
safety, were trying to help others who were being burned.
    It was a very--I wish everyone in America could have seen the faces, 
the eyes, the spirit of these people. They would realize how fortunate 
we are to be served by men and women like this who are both brave and 
selfless and with no concern other than just to get back to their lives 
and to their duty. I mean, it is very, very moving. I'm very glad I 
came. I'm glad I had the opportunity to see this and, again, profoundly 
grateful to the people in this fine hospital who are taking such good 
care of them.
    Q. Is this one of the worst incidents you've seen?
    Mr. President. It was a serious problem, but they've handled it 
magnificently, I think.

[[Page 554]]

Note: The President spoke at 2:36 p.m. at Womack Army Medical Center. In 
his remarks, he referred to Maj. Gen. William M. Steele, USA, commanding 
general, 82d Airborne Division, Fort Bragg; Maj. Gen. Richard E. Davis, 
USA, deputy commander, 18th Airborne Corps, Fort Bragg. A tape was not 
available for verification of the content of these remarks.