Visiting Maj. Nidal Hasan's Hospital – HUMAN EVENTS
While the military still is reeling and recovering from the massacre at Fort Hood, my wife, Gena, and I decided to boost the morale of military personnel by visiting the cadets at West Point and the wounded warriors at Brooke Army Medical Center, at Fort Sam Houston. Little did I know that Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the shooter at Fort Hood, was hospitalized there.
The day before Veterans Day, we visited West Point. We were amazed by its pristine and picturesque setting, 50 miles north of New York City on the Hudson River. It was also fascinating to learn more about the academy’s history. From the day of its founding, March 16, 1802, West Point has produced some of our country’s greatest leaders, including Grant and Lee, Pershing and MacArthur, Eisenhower and Patton, Schwarzkopf and Petraeus, etc.
It was inspiring to watch the cadets’ unyielding commitment to develop their minds, bodies and spirits. It was also a joy to see this international Corps of Cadets take a little time even to have fun with my tough-guy image and reputation. For example, one of the senior cadets, named Taylor, had a picture of me in a frame but with his name inscribed underneath it. A French cadet with a very heavy accent spoke on behalf of other French comrades and read aloud this Chuck Norris “fact”: “When an episode of ‘Walker, Texas Ranger’ was aired in France, the French surrendered to Chuck Norris just to be on the safe side.” He then followed it up by stating, “We’ll surrender if you take a photo with me and my fellow French cadets!” Of course, I obliged.
Visiting Maj. Nidal Hasan’s Hospital – HUMAN EVENTS.
