Tuesday, November 20, 2007
CHARLES CITY, Va. (AP) — President Bush on Monday honored acts of everyday decency and supreme sacrifice, part of a Thanksgiving tribute like none he had done before.
Bush devoted his day to people who, as he put it, serve a cause larger than themselves — police, firefighters, teachers and citizens who become heroes in times of crisis.
He singled out three people for recognition: Jeremy Hernandez, who rescued children from a school bus at the scene of a massive bridge collapse in Minneapolis; Doris Hicks, a school principal in New Orleans’ devastated 9th Ward; and Liviu Librescu, a Holocaust survivor who died trying to save his students during the Virginia Tech massacre.
“These stories remind us that our nation’s greatest strength is the decency and compassion of our people,” Bush said at Berkeley Plantation, where the three-sided tent set up for his speech offered a sweeping backdrop of the James River.
“As we count our many blessings, I encourage all Americans to show their thanks by giving back,” said Bush, who also toured a food bank that serves a huge swath of Virginia.