"What's he jumping on me for? I didn't kill the kid!"
The London Sunday Times, May 29, 1994:
It was the moment President Bill Clinton wanted to restore his
tattered reputation with the military before his departure for the
D-Day celebrations in Europe this week, James Adams reports.
He had just presented posthumous Congressional Medals of Honour,
America's highest military decoration, to the widows of two
soldiers for valour in Somalia. After inviting the families for a
moment of quiet reflection in the Oval Office, the president
approached Herbert Shughart, the father of one of the two
soldiers, and offered his hand.
Eventually, after Clinton had sat on the paper work for eight
weeks, two of the slain soldiers, Master Sergeant Gary Gordon and
Sergeant First Class Randall Shughart, were posthumously awarded
the Medal of Honor. As usual in such cases, the medals were
presented to the next of kin.
Following the May 23 presentation at the White House, the families
of the two men were invited into the Oval Office for a private
visit with Clinton. Inside the office, the father of Sergeant
Shughart refused to shake Clinton's hand, then looked him in the
face and calmly told him that he was responsible for his son's
death, that it was for no purpose, that he was not fit to be
President, and not fit to be Commander in Chief.
Clinton was visibly shocked, amazed, and momentarily speechless.
It is revealing that he was surprised that the man should feel
that way. Clinton really doesn't think the way most people do,
seeming to lack a sense of personal responsibility. After a brief,
awkward silence, Clinton caught his breath. Becoming angry, he
turned to the mother of the dead soldier and said, "What's he
jumping on me for? I didn't kill the kid!" (Emphasis added).
One other incident that didn't make the American press, happened after the wounded soldiers were brought back to Walter Reed Army Hospital outside Washington.
"Clinton was advised to go see them, but he didn't want to," McKenny said. "Somewhat reluctantly, he finally did go. When he got there, he offered to have his picture taken with each one of them. At least four turned him down, saying they wouldn't dishonor their dead friends or their uniform by having their pictures taken with him.