I was with 1stMarDiv Forward in Saudi when we were all told to clean our vehicles for a visit from President and Mrs. Bush, who were coming to have Thanksgiving Dinner with us. We cleaned our vehicle as best we could using brooms and a little bit of water.
On Thanksgiving Day our vehicle was staged with other vehicles and we went to get in line for our one Hot meal for the day. The Mess line was huge and there were all of the people we had never seen; other units, other branches, etc. Finally, we got our hot Thanksgiving Meal and went back to our vehicle. While eating President Bush came to our vehicle, sat his plate down on the hood, and began a press conference – while eating his Thanksgiving Dinner. He had spilled some gravy on the hood so afterwards I circled it with a black marker to commerate the occasion.
I was in the desert, I think up in the elbow area. We had a great Thanksgiving meal. The cook boiled up the containers with the turkey and other stuff in it so we had a hot turkey meal. We also had all the other trimmings set up on a couple of wooden planks so the platoon went through the line and helped themselves. I thought it was pretty good. The Christmas meal was about the same except there were fruitcakes and mixed nuts on the planks. And during both meals the word was that the Iraqi army just a few miles north of us was living on onions and tomatoes.
Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas to all my brothers at “Lonesome Dove”.
Aug 90-Apr91
SSgt Lamarr Johnson
MWSS-273
One of the best presidents we have ever had
It was on TV when Mr bush was there, my gal was watching it and in the background eating chow was her son! She lost it seeing him there behind the President. No contact for a long time and pow right on TV!