My story on John Warner who died today... [View all]

[Grins]

John Warner died today. I think, all-in-all, a decent man.
My one story on him.

He was Nixon's Secretary of the Navy, 1972-1974.
Sometime while he was SecNav, he went on a trip to Africa.
While he was in another country, Warner would meet the US Ambassador and other US Embassy people.
In those years a close friend of mine was a State Dept., Foreign Service employee.
She was an RN and the senior medical officer for the Embassy staff and their families because doctors were not assigned to the embassies of smaller countries; only to places like Paris, Rome, London, etc. (I'm guessing the embassy in this telling was in Accra, Ghana.)

So Warner came to the Embassy and went out of his way to meet all he could, asking if there was anything he could do for them.
He meets my friend. "Anything I can do for you?"
Her:

"For me, no. But look over there. Those are the Marines who guard this embassy. They do more beyond their normal duties, but too often they are taken for granted. No one ever thanks them for what they do. You should go over there and thank them."

Sumbitch! Warner immediately turned around and went directly to those Marines and chatted them up royally!! Talked and thanked them, asked about their assignment, what could he do for them, where were they from, etc., etc. He took the time.

When Warner returned to Washington he called some of the families of those Marines to let them know he had met their son/brother/husband, and that they were fine. A simple thing to do - but Warner did it!

To this day my friend brags she told the SecNav what to do - and he did it!!