On May 18, 2001, President Bush met in the Oval Office with the crew of the EP-3E Naval aircraft that was forced down by China in April 2001. The President shook hands with and thanked each of the 24 crew members. The crew was also recognized by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld in a ceremony at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland. Navy Lt. Shane Osborn, pilot of the EP-3E aircraft, was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. Osborn and Senior Chief Nicholas Mellos, the senior enlisted man on the crew, received the Meritorious Service Medal. Mellos and the other crew members also received the Air Medal.
Speaking to Marines at Camp Pendelton, California, May 29, 2001.
The President lays a wreath during dedication ceremonies of the D-Day Memorial in Bedford, Va., June 7, 2001.
President Bush drapes the Congressional Medal of Honor on Ed Freeman of Boise, Idaho, in the East Room at the White House, July 16, 2001. Mr. Freeman was awarded the honor for his actions in Viet Nam in 1965 when, as a helicopter pilot, he flew through gunfire more than 20 times during a single, ferocious battle, bringing supplies to a trapped batallion and flying more than 70 wounded soldiers to safety.
