The General visiting my son's AO in Baghdad, 2007. One of my favorite photos. Check out the kids behind him.
Posted on 10/10/2009 4:13:49 PM PDT by Impala64ssa
CORNWALL — Thirteen-year-old Megan Gagnon is killing time outside her middle school on Thursday afternoon, waiting for police and federal agents to finish a sweep of the building.
This is a big deal.
Gen. David H. Petraeus is about to arrive.
He grew up here, she says, graduated from Cornwall High, then West Point. “Now he runs Iraq and Afghanistan.”
Gagnon's dad is in the Army too, deployed to Iraq for the past nine months. She told him, over a webcam, that Petraeus was visiting on Thursday so the town could name a street after him. The band was going to play a patriotic medley. She was going to play bells with the percussion.
What did her dad say?
“He was like, ‘Oh, that's so cool. I'm so proud of you!' ”
Petraeus, 56, has become a reluctant celebrity during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The four-star general was credited with promoting the surge that saved Iraq from civil war. Now, as head of the U.S. Central Command, many hope he can find a solution in Afghanistan. Some have even urged him to run for the presidency.
The general spent Thursday morning at the White House, meeting with Vice President Joe Biden and members of the National Security Council. Friday, he returns to Washington to discuss Afghanistan with President Obama.
In between, he made plans to be in Cornwall – in his hometown, in his old high school gym.
The kids painted a big welcome sign, with four stars, to hang over the door. They lined the windows with red, white and blue crepe paper. School officials dusted off decades-old soccer memorabilia, and friends from the Class of 1970 found seats on the bleachers.
“Those of us who know him, we still just call him Peaches,” said classmate Heather O'Dell. “There's no general.”
She still remembers the prepster with the neat blond hair and rosy cheeks. He wore loafers and sweaters. Used to deliver the paper. Real smart.
Still is, she says. “Regardless of how any one of us feel about the politics involved with the wars, if Peaches says it's the thing to do, we have complete faith in his judgment.”
On a small stage, set between basketball hoops, a crowd of hundreds stood to applaud the general and his wife, Holly.
It's surreal, she told him.
He agreed.
Orange County dubbed Oct. 8 Gen. David Howell Petraeus Day and renamed a portion of County Route 107 in his name.
“I am in equal parts humbled and honored by the recognition,” he said, but the accolades belong to all America's service men and women. “In honoring me here today, you honor them,” he said. “This is their highway, not mine.”
After the ceremony, Daniel Rohe of Cornwall approached Petraeus. He told him his son, Danny, 25, was an Army Ranger in Afghanistan.
“He's in a scary spot,” Rohe said. “Our hearts are just pounding all the time.” Petraeus handed him a shield-shaped medallion bearing his signature and command.
In the military, it is an honor to receive a general's coin. Rohe was floored. “He asked me to give it to Danny.”
Visit recordonline.com for video, photos and more stories from Gen. Petraeus' visit.
ajames@th-record.com
Petraeus returns to 'Hometown, USA' To most of the country, Gen. David H. Petraeus is larger than life.
America's top commander in Iraq and Afghanistan.
A regular at the White House.
An Esquire, GQ, Time Magazine man-of-the-year type of guy.
But to Cornwall residents, he's still "Peaches," the tow-headed boy who kicked around a soccer ball and sold string beans out of a red wagon.
That's how folks here remember him, Petraeus said Thursday, as he arrived in the Hudson Valley to attend an awards ceremony at his old high school.
He said few people would have predicted, when he graduated from Cornwall High in 1970, that he'd somebody return as a four-star general. "To them, I'm still the kid who delivered the newspaper."
Even so, Orange County just dubbed Oct. 8 Gen. David Howell Petraeus Day and renamed a portion of County Route 107 the Gen. David Howell Petraeus Highway.
So how does this honor compare to all the others?
"This really matters," Petraeus said. "This is really personal."
When asked if his homecoming would boost the moral of local troops, Petraeus answered, "It sure boosts my morale." Cornwall is a "special place in America," he said. "Hometown, USA."
Staff Writer Meghan E. Murphy contributed to this report.
Petraeus thanks Orange County Choppers TOWN OF NEWBURG – “Hey handsome,” said Gen. David Petraeus as he marched into the Orange County Choppers' headquarters on Thursday.
“Handsome” was directed at reality star Paul Teutul Sr., who looks like a grizzly bear with a Fu Manchu.
Petraeus said he watched Teutul on an episode of “American Chopper” visiting troops at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington. The motorcycle shop has built several military-themed bikes to auction off for charity. Petraeus thanked Teutul for supporting the troops, giving him a certificate and coin.
The four-star general toured the massive garage, which includes a memorial to Sept. 11. The showroom features thousands of patches from police and fire departments and a plaque that says, “Never Forget,” in front of a blazing red “Fire Bike,” built for fallen firefighters.
“It is important to remember why we went to Afghanistan in the first place,” said Petraeus, head of the U.S. Central Command. “We can't allow Al-Qaeda to restore the sanctuary they had in Afghanistan.”
Staff Writer Meghan E. Murphy contributed to this report.
From Cub Scout to General NEW WINDSOR – Orange County Boy Scouts made Gen. David Petraeus an honorary lifetime member at its annual awards dinner Thursday night.
Petraeus, head of the U.S. Central Command, grew up in Cornwall-on-Hudson and was a member of Cub Scout Pack 6 in Cornwall.
The four-star general returned to his hometown Thursday to appear at the Scouts' Distinguished Citizen Award Dinner at Anthony's Pier Nine in New Windsor.
“There is not a better individual that personifies the values of Scouting, which are Duty to God, Country and others, than Gen. David Petraeus,” said Diego Aviles, chief operating officer for the Boy Scouts of America, Hudson Valley Council.
Alexa James
The general's itinerary For Gen. David Petraeus, the top commander in Iraq and Afghanistan, escaping to the Hudson Valley was a nice reprieve from what his aides called the "meat grinder" of Washington.
Even so, a run-down of the general's schedule shows little room for rest.
"I don't know how he does it," said Col. Erik Gunhus, spokesman for the U.S. Central Command. "He doesn't waste a minute."
Thursday: Meetings at the White House and Capitol Hill (Washington, DC) Say thank you and present a certificate to Orange County Choppers (Town of Newburgh) Road dedication ceremony at Cornwall Middle School (Cornwall) Speak at Boy Scouts award dinner (New Windsor) Grab dinner and drinks with hometown friends (undisclosed location)
Friday: Meet with President Obama at the White House (Washington, DC)
Saturday: Celebrate 35th reunion with fellow U.S. Military Academy graduates and watch the Army Black Knights beat up on the Vanderbilt Commodores (West Point)
Petraeus will be back in the Hudson Valley on June 25 to deliver the commencement address at Cornwall High School, his alma mater.
I believe he is currently a resident Of New Hampshire so it’s not all that far from NY.
The General visiting my son's AO in Baghdad, 2007. One of my favorite photos. Check out the kids behind him.
Thursday: Meetings at the White House and Capitol Hill (Washington, DC) Say thank you and present a certificate to Orange County Choppers (Town of Newburgh) Road dedication ceremony at Cornwall Middle School (Cornwall) Speak at Boy Scouts award dinner (New Windsor) Grab dinner and drinks with hometown friends (undisclosed location)
Friday: Meet with President Obama at the White House (Washington, DC)
Saturday: Celebrate 35th reunion with fellow U.S. Military Academy graduates and watch the Army Black Knights beat up on the Vanderbilt Commodores (West Point) >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Sunday,
Announce his retirement and state his intention to run for the presidencey in 2012. ( West Point)
I'll sign that!
Petraeus/Palin 2012
Yeah,I agree with that!
A Petraeus/Palin ticket, works for me!
Tell Me How This Ends by Linda Robinson was an excellent read.
I didn't know he had been accidentally shot in the chest by one of his own troops at the rifle range, who tripped and fell with his weapon. She said it made a golf ball sized exit wound in his back.
I think that would have killed me (if you've ever seen what a .223 round does to a steel ammo can filled with water at close range, you know what I mean), but he was out of the hospital a few days after that. He doesn't look like a hardass, but he is.
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