CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARBULLETIN.COM
President Bush shook hands with troops yesterday prior to boarding Air Force One during his brief visit to Hickam Air Force Base and Pearl Harbor.
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Bush makes isle stopover
STORY SUMMARY »
President Bush met receptive audiences of dignitaries, residents and military personnel during his brief stopover in Honolulu yesterday.
The president spent the entire 3 1/2-hour visit on military property -- Hickam Air Force Base and Pearl Harbor Naval Station -- and was greeted by Gov. Linda Lingle after Air Force One touched down about 11:05 a.m.
CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARBULLETIN.COM
Military officials awaited the president's arrival as Air Force One taxied on the Hickam runway.
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Among the highlights of the visit, Bush:
» Met privately with 33 troops who were wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan and their family members.
» Greeted local volunteer Caroline Tom, 78, and gave her an award in honor of her years of service at Palama Settlement and Lanakila Multipurpose Senior Center.
» Lunched at the Pearl Harbor home of Adm. Timothy Keating, U.S. Pacific commander. Also present were Lingle, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and other military commanders.
» Shook hands and took pictures with about 150 troops who were gathered on the tarmac to see the president off at about 2:30 p.m.
"It's amazing, thoroughly amazing," said Army Spc. Jeremy Towal of Springfield, Ill., after having his picture taken with Bush.
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CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARBULLETIN.COM
President Bush took a moment yesterday to chat with Debbie Boenisch at Hickam Air Force Base. Boenisch summed up the experience as "fabulous." Also with Boenisch were her daughters Kylie, 9, and Kate, 6.
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In a carefully scripted, 3 1/2-hour fuel stop, President Bush completed his third trip to Hawaii with a visit with troops wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan and lunch with military leaders.
Bush landed at Hickam Air Force Base at about 11:05 a.m., 25 minutes early, after his more than 10-hour flight from Sydney, Australia, where he participated in a meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation.
After meeting privately with 33 soldiers who had been injured in the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts, Bush stopped for a three-minute statement to the press.
"We're on our way to D.C. And I decided that it was best to stop and say hello to some of our wounded soldiers and sailors and Marines," Bush said in front of the Tradewinds Enlisted Club on Hickam.
White House and military officers declined to identify any of the troops Bush visited, except to say that they were all in various stages of recovery and were not full-time patients at Tripler Army Medical Center.
CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARBULLETIN.COM
The president waved to the crowd yesterday as he boarded Air Force One, which took off some 10 minutes early, at about 2:40 p.m. He was expected to arrive in Washington around dawn today.
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The troops, Bush said, are receiving good medical care.
"If they've got any complaints, I'm available for them to air them out," Bush said.
"What I heard was encouraging; that people feel like they're getting the best possible care. And that makes me feel good," Bush added.
Earlier this year, Hawaii's Sen. Dan Akaka, chairman of the veterans affairs committee, said Bush had seriously underestimated the amount of money needed for treatment and included an extra $300 million in the federal budget for treatment of combat brain injuries.
The president declined to take any questions from the news media, except to say that first lady Laura Bush was doing well after surgery yesterday in Washington.
"She's doing great, thank you. I talked to Laura, talked to her twice. I talked to her right before she went in for the surgery in Australia, and then talked to her twice on the airplane.
"Her spirits are good. They feel like the surgery was a success," Bush said.
Laura Bush underwent surgery yesterday to relieve pain from pinched nerves in her neck. The White House said the procedure was successful.
CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARBULLETIN.COM
As with his last visit to Hawaii in November, President Bush never left military property yesterday, traveling from Hickam to Pearl Harbor and back. Here, the president met with troops before boarding Air Force One.
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The entire presidential visit had been carefully worked out in advance. Karen Reaves, a senior White House press advance representative, came to Honolulu Aug. 30 to start work on the visit.
Before meeting with the wounded troops and having lunch with Gov. Linda Lingle, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Adm. Timothy Keating, commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, and other military officials, Bush received a lei from Caroline Tom, 78, a local volunteer, whom he honored for her charity work.
Nearby, about 50 spectators witnessed the president's arrival.
Jarrett Hayama said his classmates at Kaimuki Middle School didn't believe him when he told them he was going to see the president.
"Now I'll show them the picture of me and the plane," said the 12-year-old. He and his father, Scott Hayama, joined spectators thanks to a friend in the U.S. Secret Service.
"This is my second time seeing him," said the father. "It was more for my son, for him to see the security and preparation that goes into for a presidential arrival. And it may be once in a lifetime for him."
During Bush's last visit to Oahu, on Nov. 21, Honolulu motorcycle police officer Steve Favela crashed while escorting the president's motorcade on a rain-slicked road. Favela died a few days later from his injuries.
Bush's first visit to Hawaii as president was Oct. 23, 2003, when he stayed for about 12 hours on Oahu.
As with last November's visit, Bush never left military property yesterday, traveling from Hickam to Pearl Harbor and back.
There were few onlookers yesterday as the 20-car motorcade moved through military housing areas, but about 150 troops were on the tarmac to see the president off.
Military personnel who were working in the Hickam Base Ops center clustered around the camera stands, hoping to get a moment with Bush.
As the president moved down the rope line he was flanked by six Secret Service agents, three military photographers and two White House staffers.
Airman Rebekah Ladue had her camera at the ready, hoping for a picture with the president.
"He's our leader," Ladue said. Bush moved away before she could get her picture.
The president waved to the crowd as he boarded Air Force One, which took off about 2:40 p.m., about 10 minutes early. He was expected to arrive in Washington around dawn today.
Star-Bulletin reporter Gene Park contributed to this report.
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Meeting Bush proves exciting
A brief stopover on Oahu leaves a lasting impression
In the fifth grade, Raquel Gonzalez met former President Clinton, shook his hand and took a photo with him.
So when her mother, who works for the U.S. Secret Service in Hawaii, said the Hawaii Mission Academy student could bring two friends to greet President Bush yesterday at Hickam Air Force Base, the trio were excited at the prospect of taking a photo with him.
After all, Raquel, 15, and her friends all have MySpace profiles to update.
"We were kind of upset that he didn't come over," she said. "But it was still really exciting. It felt like the first time seeing a president."
Raquel and her classmates would have been jealous of Army Spc. Jeremy Towal, who by today should have two pictures of himself with Bush on his own MySpace profile.
Towal met Bush during his visit here last November, and was thrilled for another opportunity. He was among 150 troops who bid Bush farewell for 10 minutes before the president boarded Air Force One.
"I asked for a picture with him, and he's like, 'Gimme that camera,' " Towal said. "He handed it off to one of his Secret Service agents and took the photo."
Towal said it was an honor because he admires Bush and believes the president really cares for the American people and the troops.
"The news and a lot of the comedians make him out to be incompetent, which he certainly is not," Towal said. "Whenever you get a chance to talk to him in person, he is well-spoken, intelligent, and you don't make it to where he's at by being not intelligent."
Kailua resident Paul Anslow wanted to say hi to his old boss.
Anslow was a pilot for Marine Helicopter Squadron One, or HMX-1, which provides helicopter transportation for the president, vice president, the Cabinet and foreign dignitaries.
He was a pilot from 1997 to 2001, working for Bush during the first eight months of the president's first term.
Anslow and his wife, Sara, were at the front of a group of about 150 troops who bid the president farewell after the 3 1/2-hour visit in Hawaii yesterday.
"I told him I used to be one of his HMX pilots," Anslow said. "He says, 'I thought you looked familiar.' ... I think he was just being gracious."
Not all Oahu residents were enthused about Bush's visit. As many as 20 protesters from World Can't Wait were outside Fort Shafter yesterday speaking out against the administration.
World Can't Wait is a national movement seeking to gain support against the Bush administration and the current war.
The protesters were at Fort Shafter because of the limited access at Hickam Air Force Base. Bush stayed at Hickam and Pearl Harbor and never went near Fort Shafter.
Liz Ree, one of the group's local organizers, said drivers were supportive, honking at the request of a big banner they held that read, "Honk if you hate Bush."
"We knew we weren't going to be visible to Bush," Rees said. "However we felt it was really important to be out there, showing everyone that there are people in Hawaii who oppose the war and the Bush regime."
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CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARBULLETIN.COM
Caroline Tom met President Bush yesterday at Hickam Air Force Base. Tom received the Volunteer Service Award from the president for her work with senior citizens at Palama Settlement and the Lanakila Multipurpose Senior Center.
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President greets acclaimed volunteer
At 78 years old, Caroline Tom has had her share of chicken- skin moments. Meeting and being honored by President Bush yesterday is now up there among those top moments.
Tom has logged 10,000 hours as volunteer at the Lanakila Multipurpose Senior Center and the Palama Settlement for 10 years and was rewarded with a chance to meet the president.
"What a thrill, oh my God what an honor," Tom said. "A really nice day."
Tom said she felt alone waiting for Bush to get off Air Force One. A line of military dignitaries greeted Bush, while Tom waited several yards behind the president, unsure of what to do or how to approach him.
"Me standing there alone, with no support or nobody to hang on to," Tom said. "But everything came out right."
Bush walked toward Tom, thanked her for her work and gave her the Volunteer Service Award, a pin the president gives to volunteers throughout the nation. The president has met with more than 600 volunteers since March 2002.
"I asked him about Mrs. Bush," Tom said of the first lady's neck surgery yesterday morning. "She's doing fine, he just spoke to her this morning."
Tom has served as an interpreter with the Chinese Cultural Club, represented the Medicare Beneficiary Advisory Committee and helped the Catholic Charities Transportation Unit, transporting seniors as they do their shopping.
At Palama Settlement, she teaches country line dancing. Despite all her experience dealing with people, Tom said it was hard to express her excitement.
"I haven't come down from it yet," Tom said. "It's a great feeling and I'm going to share this with all the volunteers in Hawaii, as much as I can."
Tom said she plans to pass the award down her family as an heirloom. She has a daughter, two grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
This is the second time this year that Tom was recognized for her efforts by a public official. In April, Mayor Mufi Hannemann awarded her the 2007 Outstanding Female Volunteer award at the city Senior Recognition Program.