    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2008, Book II)]
    [July 3, 2008]
    [Pages 974-976]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at a Groundbreaking Ceremony for the Walter Reed National
    Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland
    July 3, 2008

        Thank you very much, Deputy Secretary England, for that generous introduction. I am so honored to be
    here at Bethesda National Naval Medical Center. This is often called the
    President's hospital. The reason why is this is where the President gets
    medical care. But I'm relieved today not to be on the treadmill,
    weighing in, and getting a blood test. [Laughter] I also will tell you
    that the care that the President gets here is extraordinary.
        I am so excited to be here for what is a grand occasion. This is a
    big deal, the breaking ground of a new joint medical facility for the
    men and women of our Armed Forces. Thank you all for joining us.
        In a few years, the current campus at Walter Reed will close, and
    many of its services will be relocated to the new complex here on the
    grounds at Bethesda. The two hospitals will be merged into one central
    campus, which will be called the Walter Reed National Military Medical
    Center. At this new center, wounds will be healed, medical knowledge
    will be advanced, lives will be rebuilt, and those who wear our Nation's
    uniform will be reminded that they have the enduring gratitude of the
    American people.
        I thank all who serve Walter Reed and Bethesda. I love being with
    the healers and caregivers and incredibly compassionate people who makes
    our current facility successful and will make this new center a great
    success.
        Congressman, thank you very much
    for joining us. I know you are proud that this new facility is in your
    congressional district. Thank you for working hard to see this vision
    become a reality.
        Lieutenant Governor, proud to be with
    you. This man wear the uniform of the United States military, and I'm
    proud to be with this veteran and now public servant for the State of
    Maryland.
        Members of the administration who are here, thank you all for
    coming. Chaplain York, thanks for the
    blessings. And all those who wear the uniform, thanks for sacrificing
    for the country.
        This morning, we gather in a place that was chosen by another
    President to be the site of a world-class naval hospital. When President
    Franklin Roosevelt dedicated Bethesda in the early years of World War
    II, he placed this facility on the frontlines of what he called the
    ``battle against disease, disability, and death.'' The military surgeons
    and nurses, scientists and technicians, he said, ``are anonymous heroes
    of this war.''
        More than six decades later, our Nation is engaged in a very
    different battle for our freedom. Yet our success still relies on these
    ``anonymous heroes,'' the healers who care for the troops, those troops
    who keep the American people safe. In this new war, giving our troops
    the care they deserve requires cutting-edge medical facilities. And that
    is what this new medical center will provide.
        When the construction is complete, this facility will encompass 345
    beds and 6.7 million square feet. It will join the resources of the
    Army, Navy, and Air Force, and make it easier for medical professionals
    in all three services to collaborate and care for the patients. Our
    troops and their families will no longer have to travel between Bethesda
    and Walter Reed to see multiple specialists. The new complex will also
    benefit from the good work of the Dole-
    Shalala Wounded Warriors Commission, which
    has issued recommendations for modernizing and improving our military
    health care system. Those recommendations will provide

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    a strong foundation for effective, accountable care here at the new
    Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
        This new medical center will be a place of healing. Every day, our
    military doctors and nurses and medical staff demonstrate their immense
    skill and their caring hearts. You soothe the pain and fear of patients.
    You console families who keep constant vigil over their loved ones. You
    share the joy of a neurology patient's first recovered words and an
    amputee's first steps. When required, you can show tough love, but you
    also like to remind patients that laughter is the best medicine. And we
    look forward to the day when the joy of recovery echoes through the
    halls of the new medical facility that will be built here.
        This new medical center will be a place of innovation. Major Walter
    Reed was the Army doctor who found that yellow fever is transmitted by
    mosquitoes, a discovery that has saved countless lives. The new
    institution bearing his name will continue his legacy of lifesaving
    research. Today, our Nation's military doctors are revolutionizing how
    we approach traumatic brain injuries, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, and
    amputee care. In many fields, you are far ahead of civilian medicine.
    And when Bethesda and Walter Reed merge into one campus across from the
    National Institutes of Health, this will be the site of many more
    promising breakthroughs that will benefit not only our troops, but all
    mankind.
        This new medical center will be a place of compassion. At Bethesda
    and Walter Reed, volunteers organize holiday celebration, poker nights,
    and field trips. They distribute care packages from thousands of
    Americans who want to show their gratitude for our troops. Recently,
    schoolchildren from New York made pillows for soldiers at Walter Reed
    and sent letters along with the gifts. The children wrote, ``[You are]
    everyone's hero.'' ``Thank you for fighting for our freedom.'' At this
    new center, the Americans who fight for our freedom will get the
    compassion and support they deserve.
        This new medical center will be a place of courage. Our wounded
    warriors show that while the human body is fragile, the human spirit is
    strong. Anybody who has met the wounded at Walter Reed and Bethesda
    cannot help but be incredibly impressed by the courage and sacrifice of
    our troops.
        Recently, I saw this strength in a young Air Force staff sergeant
    named Scott Lilley. Scott was serving in Iraq
    when an IED left him with a severe brain injury. I think it was last
    Fourth of July that you came to the White House. Yes, I was one who felt
    like this guy had no chance. And yet he--the doctors here used state-of-
    the-art technology and aggressive treatment to get Scott better. Their
    perseverance paid off, and so has his. I welcomed he and his mom and dad to the Oval Office
    the other day. He was more eloquent than I was, which isn't all that
    hard. [Laughter] He drives a car; he goes to baseball games; he loves to
    joke.
        His doctor calls Scott's recovery
    miraculous. And thanks to the extraordinary care he received at Bethesda
    as well his own extraordinary resolve, he is now back on active duty in
    the Air Force. And we are glad you're here.
        The greatest privilege of serving as President is to be the
    Commander in Chief of such an extraordinary group of men and women who
    wear our Nation's uniform. And I'm pleased to help start construction on
    the new hospital that will continue to provide the excellent care our
    troops deserve. It is fitting that this new facility be built in a place
    called Bethesda, which draws its name from the Biblical pool of healing.
    It is there that a lame man was made to walk and was dispatched with the
    words: ``Behold, thou art made whole.''
        I pray that this will be the site of many miracles of healing, where
    the lame will walk again, where broken bodies will be made whole, and
    where you'll always know

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    that you're in our prayers and in the hearts of the American people.
        May God bless you, and may God continue to bless our country.

    Note: The President spoke at 10:06 a.m. at the National Naval Medical
    Center. In his remarks, he referred to Rep. Christopher Van Hollen and
    Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown of Maryland; Capt. Lorenzo York, USN, command
    chaplain, National Naval Medical Center; former Sen. Robert J. Dole and
    former Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna E. Shalala,
    Cochairs, President's Commission on Care for America's Returning Wounded
    Warriors; and Jolene and Frank Lilley, parents of Staff Sgt. Scott
    Lilley, USAF.