THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, December 25, 1995 TAG: 9512250033
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium: 69 lines
Surrounded by the families of troops serving in Bosnia, including a family from Norfolk, President Clinton taped a Christmas Eve message telling America's military personnel that the nation is proud of their mission of peace.
``There is too much at stake today in Bosnia for our nation to sit on the sidelines,'' Clinton said in the Sunday address to troops in Bosnia, Croatia, Hungary, Italy and the Adriatic Sea, and those still preparing to deploy. ``And that's why we've turned to you, our men and women in uniform.''
Clinton called the peace mission ``the most noble mission of all,'' bringing hope and stability to people exhausted by war.
``We know, and the people of Bosnia know, that you will get the job done,'' Clinton said in the address broadcast on Armed Forces radio and TV stations.
The president also thanked the families left behind on Christmas.
``I know that when we call on our troops to protect America's interests and values, we also call on their families,'' Clinton said, sitting in the Oval Office surrounded by the families of seven servicemen and women.
``Their families' special sacrifice may not make the headlines, but we could not be successful withoutit,'' Clinton said.
With Clinton were the families of Navy Command Master Chief Jim Sirles of Norfolk, aboard the Norfolk-based aircraft carrier America in the Adriatic; Marine Sgt. William LeBright of Camp Lejeune, N.C., aboard the Norfolk-based dock landing ship Whidbey Island; Air Force Lt. Col. Bob Norman of New Jersey, deployed at Tuzla airfield; Army Warrant Officer Willie Wade of Fort Benning, Ga., in Belgium loading equipment bound for Bosnia; Army Reserve Lt. Col. E. O'Malley Smith of Bethel, Conn., in Zagreb, Croatia; Army National Guard Sgt. Mark Ackerman of Bristol, N.H., in Bosnia; and Linda Carsey of Aberdeen, Md., an Army civilian contract specialist in Germany en route to Bosnia.
Earlier in the day, Clinton telephoned 10 enlisted men and women scattered on duty across the globe, talking briefly with each about their families and their work, said White House spokesman David Johnson. Nearly 170,000 troops are serving away from families.
Clinton made phone calls to Ryan J. Westling, 23, a Navy boatswain's mate third class on the America; Billy McCall, 19, of Pensacola, Fla., a Navy electronic warfare specialist aboard the Vicksburg in the Persian Gulf; Marine Lance Cpl. Michael C. Greenfield, 19, in Okinawa; Marine Lance Cpl. Stevie A. Soanes, 20, in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; Army Spc. Michael A. Paz, 24, of Leavenworth, Kan., a military police officer on Johnston Island, in the Pacific; Army Pfc. Beau Steven Mead, 19, on a landing craft vessel off Port-au-Prince, Haiti; Coast Guard electronics technician third class Terence M. Harrington, 27, in Attu, Alaska; Air Force Senior Airman Keith Eugene Knight, 21, laying phone lines in Sarajevo; Coast Guard Spec. third class Katharina A. Brandts, 32, aboard the cutter Polar Star under way near Antarctica; and Air Force Senior Airman Christy Milligan, 26, at Incirlik Air Base, Turkey.
Westling, aboard the America, spent three minutes talking to the President. Clinton asked Westling about his hometown near Pittsburgh and of his plans for Christmas.
``I'll probably watch a movie, work out in the gym, and hang out with my friends,'' Westling said. ``They're the only family I have out here.'' ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]
Ryan J. Westing talks to President Clinton from the bridge of the
Norfolk-based carrier America.
by CNB