[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2004, Book III)]
[November 9, 2004]
[Pages 2954-2955]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks Following a Visit With Wounded Troops at Walter Reed Army 
Medical Center
November 9, 2004

    Listen, I've--Laura and I have just toured 
one of the wards upstairs. I am--every time I come to Walter Reed, I'm 
struck by the courage and bravery of our men and women who wear the 
uniform. It's such an honor to meet the troops who are wounded. And it's 
so uplifting to see their spirit, their drive to become rehabilitated, 
their love of their country, their support of the mission.
    Laura and I spent time with the moms and dads 
and husbands and wives of those who are wounded, and I was struck by 
just the patriotic sense that they have and that--their strong support 
for their loved ones.
    Every time I come to the hospital, one of the things I try to 
determine is to--whether or not our troops and their families are being 
treated with first-class care. It's very important for all of us 
involved in decisionmaking to know that a troop who had been injured in 
Iraq or Afghanistan is immediately brought to care. And to a person, 
they were very strong in their support and praise to how this hospital 
is run.
    I want to thank the generals, the doctors, the nurses for running 
this hospital. I mean--it's such a comforting sense for me to be able to 
tell a loved one, ``Your person hurt, your loved one will get the best 
care possible.''
    And finally, we've got troops in harm's way in the Fallujah area 
right now, and our prayers are with the soldiers and their loved ones as 
they're doing the hard work necessary for a free Iraq to emerge. There 
are still terrorists there who are trying to stop the march of freedom. 
And at the request of the Allawi Government and 
alongside of Iraqi troops, coalition forces are now moving into Fallujah 
to bring to justice those who are willing to kill the innocent and those 
who are trying to terrorize the Iraqi people and our coalition, those 
who want to stop democracy. And they're not going to succeed.
    And so we wish our troops all the best and Godspeed to them as well. 
Thank you all.

Note: The President spoke at 3:01 p.m. In his remarks, he referred to 
Prime Minister Ayad Allawi of the Iraqi Interim Government. A tape was 
not available for verification of the content of these remarks.

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