For Immediate Release
Office of the First Lady
April 22, 2004
Remarks by First Lady Laura Bush at the Congressional Club First Lady's Luncheon Washington Hilton
AS DELIVERED
MRS. BUSH: Thank you, Mary for your warm welcome. I always look
forward to this lunch and to spending time with each of you. Special
thanks to Lea Ann and to Cecile for organizing this beautiful lunch.
Congressman Tauzin and Cecile are in our thoughts and prayers. Lynne
Cheney and other cabinet member wives thank you for being here today.
President Bush and I appreciate your and your husband's dedication to
our country. And we appreciate the dedication of every member of the
United States military, the National Guard and Reserve, and America's
veterans like Joe Bartlett who is here today. I'm happy to hear that
Janet Flower's son, P.F.C. Andrew Flowers is doing well. His eagerness
to return to his unit in Iraq is evidence of his commitment and
courage.
The President and I are inspired by the dedication of our men and
women in uniform. We visit with soldiers at bases all over the world --
and perhaps one of our most moving visits was at Walter Reed Army
Medical Center. One of the remarkable men we met at Walter Reed was
Staff Sergeant Michael McNaughton. He stepped on a land mine near Kabul
while serving with the Louisiana National Guard. His right leg had to
be removed above the knee and he was fitted with a prosthetic leg.
Michael had been a great runner and he and the President exchanged
stories about their favorite past time.
President Bush encouraged Michael to get well so that someday they
could take a run together. Sergeant McNaughton held the President to
his promise, and last week they ran together around the South Lawn at
the White House. Sergeant McNaughton is still working for the National
Guard where he enlisted after September 11th because he said he "needed
to do something."
The men and women of the United States military answer this call
every day as they defend freedom around the world. Over the last year,
the world has witnessed the skill and resolve of our military from
Korea to Kosovo to the Middle East. We've seen their courage and their
decency to the people of Afghanistan and Iraq. Our military men and
women have helped to free fifty million people from the oppression of
two brutal regimes. They are supplying villages with their first taste
of clean water, delivering medicine and supplies to hospitals and
schools. Our troops and their coalition partners have refurbished over
a thousand schools so millions of children can study and learn again.
Our soldiers' compassion is not simply part of their mission --
it's part of their character. We will never forget their commitment to
our country, nor will we forget the men and women who have fallen in
service to America. All of those who serve in our military deserve our
utmost respect -- and so do those who serve behind the front lines --
their families and children. As I've traveled to military bases, I've
become aware of the special challenges that face military families.
Like many families and like some of you, President Bush and I have
moved a lot -- five times -- and we've lived in six different homes.
Moving, packing and hoping our children will be happy in a new home is
something many of us can relate to. And so is change. For us and for
military families, change means moving and starting over; but it also
means new friends, and new challenges. A military families'
determination to make a home wherever they are matches their loved ones
devotion to duty. Separation and transition are part of a military
child's life, and they accept their duty with brave hearts.
There are more than one million military children around the world,
and 800 thousand children go to public and Department of Defense
schools in your neighborhoods. A military child may move as many as six
to nine times from kindergarten to high school. By her senior year, a
child will have attended six elementary and middle schools and two or
more high schools -- often in different states. This constant change
has a huge impact -- both academically and socially -- on children.
Many school districts are not prepared to help military children
transition from one school to another.
There is no systematic process that ensures that records, grades,
and accomplishments transfer with a military child. And this is a
problem for many children, not just military children, in our
highly-mobile society. Many students lose their class rank after
transferring, and many fall behind in class requirements because their
new school will not grant credits for their previous coursework. Many
children who were athletes at their old school miss the opportunity to
play sports because they miss tryouts.
Some students, like Renee, deal with the challenge of not
graduating. Renee lives with her sister and her sister's husband, a
soldier. As a senior, she recently moved to her fourth new high school.
Renee's new school has more graduation requirements. She must pass a
test and have a year of computer science. Her new school requested that
Renee's previous school grant her a reciprocal diploma. But the school
refused. Renee is receiving special help and support from her new
school, but she may not graduate on time. This is a common problem for
many military children and their families. But it doesn't have to be
this way.
When an Air Force officer was asked what he needed in Iraq, he
said, "Please don't send cookies, care packages, or socks. Just help
take care of our children." Our country has always supported its
military -- in times of war there were community efforts to roll
bandages and knit socks. We have a great capacity to care for the home
front. Now is the time for a new Victory garden. In this garden, we can
tend to the needs of military children. You can host a PTA group and
talk about how your school can help ease transition for military
children and families. You can volunteer at military bases and
installations in your home states and read to children or host local
events at libraries. Establish a parenting support program for military
spouses in your neighborhood and help with home repairs and baby
sitting.
The USA Freedom Corps started a program called "On the Homefront"
to provide Americans with opportunities to support our troops and their
families. More than a thousand volunteers from Rebuilding Together have
repaired homes for military families while their spouses are deployed.
With her two sons in Iraq, Marlyss Murray couldn't do all of the home
improvements she needed. An army of volunteers in Tulsa helped Marlyss
put a new roof and a fresh coat of paint on her home.
Volunteers from the Salvation Army in Cleveland, Ohio are
collecting diapers and blankets to throw a group baby shower for
military wives. And members of the VFW started a community-wide
Adopt-A-Unit program to support military units in Iraq and
Afghanistan.
We can show our appreciation for our troops and their families by
getting involved in our communities. The members of the United States
military pledge their lives to protect ours, and we can support them by
supporting their loved ones. The Military Child Education Coalition is
working to do just that. The coalition's founder, Dr. Mary Keller,
works with schools and families to help military children with
transition. While working as an Assistant Superintendent in Texas, Dr.
Keller had more than 16 thousand students from neighboring Fort Hood in
her school. She noticed that many of the military children who had
transferred could not keep up. She gathered educators, military
experts, and parents at her kitchen table and formed a coalition to
help these students. She began as a volunteer and soon moved to working
full time as Executive Director of the Coalition. Some of the funds
from today's luncheon will benefit the Coalition. Dr. Keller can
provide you with more information on how you can help military children
-- children like Kiara who deserve not only a great education, but our
support.
A sixth grade student in Louisiana, Kiara wrote a poem titled "I
Serve Too." It reads, "I'm a military child, I stay strong when my dad
goes away. If there is a war and my dad is detached, I will help him
fight back. With my braveness and courage I can stay strong, my
family's support helps me carry on. Whenever we move, I start over
again, I have to go to a new school, and make new friends. Even though
people think I'm a military brat, I just don't quite see it like that.
My daddy helps defend our country, so we can live in peace and harmony.
So all the military children help their mothers and fathers because we
serve too, we're their sons and daughters."
With your help, we can fulfill our duty on the home front -- and
the hopes of every military parent who prays "?help take care of our
children." Thank you for this lovely lunch and for your generous
contribution to the Military Child Education Coalition.
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