When I said, "thank you for your service" to retired combat veteran and former National Security Council official for two presidents (Obama and Trump) Lt. Col. Jason Galui, head of the Veterans and Military Family Alliance at the George W. Bush Center, replied that it’s fine to thank a veteran for their service. But it’s even better to ask them for their story. "I think there’s a lot that we can learn from our veterans. Really around the leadership. And I think most importantly within that leadership is an ability to inspire."
The occasion of these remarks was the 10th annual Warrior Mountain Bike Ride at the Prairie Chapel Ranch of former president and commander in chief, George W. Bush. I was interviewing Galui live for Fox News’ "America’s Newsroom" and he was explaining "Check In," a way that veterans who are having problems (often mental health issues) can literally check in to the Bush Institute much as one of my concerned patients checks in with me. The signature of "Team 43" which has risen out of this bike ride is an extensive network of vets helping each other, literally helping each other to get up if they’ve fallen down.
As former Army 1st Lieutenant Melissa Stockwell (ret.) said to me in an interview during the ride, "I would still be out there on those trails if it weren't for people that have literally gotten off of their bikes and helped push me up hills. I mean, talk about a team… In life and here."
"We’ve all gone through different yet very similar situations," Stockwell said. "We know what it’s like. We want to be there for each other. That camaraderie as a wounded veteran as part of Team 43 on these mountain biking trails goes far beyond the mountain biking trails…you really feel like family, whether I’ve just met somebody or I’ve known him for ten years, you kind of have that automatic bond."
Lieutenant Stockwell was the first American female soldier to lose a limb in Operation Iraqi Freedom when her truck was hit by a roadside bomb. She won a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star and vowed not to let her injury slow her down. In 2008, she was the first Iraq War veteran to qualify for the Paralympics. And, in 2024 she won a bronze medal in the triathlon and managed not to get sick from the polluted waters of the River Seine in Paris.
This is what Galui means when he says listen to their stories. Hearing Stockwell’s story firsthand causes me to admire her rather than worry about her in any way. Her courage and indomitability comes across strongly in President Bush’s painting of her in his 2017 book, "Portraits of Courage."
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The former president also painted Staff Sergeant Spencer Milo (ret.), who not only sustained Post Traumatic Stress and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) in 2008 in Iraq when his gunner truck was attacked but went on to be misdiagnosed with cancer. In Afghanistan in 2011, he was there when a child suicide bomber blew up. Right after being thrown many feet by the blast, he ran back to drag a fellow member of his platoon to safety. Milo says he sustained a more severe TBI as a result. But when I interviewed him during this year’s ride there was literally no sign of his injury. He has worked it through by helping others, as so many vets have done, working at Hire Heroes USA, conducting research on TBI, working at the Marcus Institute for Brain Health, and most recently as Chief Strategy Officer for the Special Forces Charitable Trust.
He says that President Bush’s painting of him makes him look too good, better than he sees himself, but, of course, not better than we see him. "I've had every reason to quit in my life," he told me during an interview during the ride. "I've had every reason to give up, and I think what really changed things for me was my daughter…I think all of us in the military are always looking for our next mission. And thankfully, I found mine in helping others."
Knowing Spencer Milo's story enhanced my admiration a thousand-fold. "Thank you for your service" seemed feeble by comparison to his life story of courage and outreach to others.
President Bush said it best, when I interviewed him during the bike ride, I came to appreciate that I was here to learn from our war heroes, not the other way around. "A lot of them lived in darkness when they came out of combat because of post-traumatic stress. All of them are using the resources available to better themselves. And once they get better, they turn and help somebody else …A lot of people don't have any idea what it was like back in 2001 after we were attacked. And yet millions stood up and said, ‘I want to serve.’ And these are the types of folks who said that. And it's a remarkable country that produces these kinds of people. To the extent that they need help, we need to help them. And we are at the Bush center, as are a lot of other people."
Former President Bush feels that we can all learn great qualities from our veterans in terms of how we go about healing our own divisiveness. "Turn to religion. Religion is love. America is going to be fine. It is a kind nation. I mean, look here at this [the bike ride]. People volunteering to help total strangers. That's kindness. And I think there's more kind than not kind in our country. It's just a matter of finding it and talking about it and nurturing it."
He ended the interview by giving me a hug. A message to America on Veterans Day.
Lindsey Reese, Fox News Dallas field producer, contributed to this story
