A look back at local, national and world events through Deseret News archives.
It was a secret mission, but he didn’t forget to bring the stuffing.
On Nov. 27, 2003, President George W. Bush flew to Iraq under extraordinary secrecy and security to spend Thanksgiving with U.S. troops and thank them for “defending the American people from danger.”
The 43rd president said he went to thank them for “defending the American people from danger.”
Per newspaper reports, the unannounced visit brought wild cheers from battle-worn soldiers, stunned the nation and even surprised the president’s parents, who had been expecting him at the Thanksgiving table at his ranch in Crawford, Texas.
Bush, the first U.S. president to visit Iraq, promised that guerrillas testing America’s commitment will not be rewarded with a U.S. retreat.
Bush spent the day with about 600 soldiers from the 1st Armored Division and the 82nd Airborne in the mess hall at Baghdad International Airport.
L. Paul Bremer, the U.S. administrator in Iraq, added his own drama to the surprise. Billed as the special guest along with coalition forces commander Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, Bremer opened the program by telling the soldiers it was time to read the president’s Thanksgiving proclamation.
He asked if there was “anybody back there more senior than us” to read the president’s words. Bush emerged from behind a curtain as cheering soldiers climbed on chairs and tables to yell their approval. The president shed a few tears.
“I was just looking for a warm meal somewhere,” he joked after an 11-hour overseas flight. “Thanks for inviting me to dinner.”
Wearing an exercise jacket with a 1st Armored Division patch, Bush then worked the entire room and dished out — but did not sit down to eat — sweet potatoes and corn from the chow line.
Through the years, U.S. presidents work hard to keep some trips a secret.
For example, when President Bill Clinton flew into Pakistan in March 2000, he switched planes during his departure from India and took an unmarked plane to Islamabad. Franklin Roosevelt used a double to wave to crowds in the U.S. while he was meeting with Winston Churchill in Newfoundland in 1941.
In 1952, President-elect Dwight D. Eisenhower left New York on a 47-hour flight to Korea, under cover of darkness and great secrecy, in an attempt to expedite the end of the Korean War, which he would inherit in the White House.
In October 1862, President Abraham Lincoln made a surprise visit to Gen. George McClellan at the freshly bloodied battlefield of Antietam in Maryland, where Union and Confederate soldiers had fought to a standoff in a battle that cost both sides a total 23,100 casualties. It stopped Gen. Robert E. Lee’s surge northward, however, and gave Lincoln the chance to order the emancipation of slaves in the South.
More recently, then-President Donald Trump paid a surprise Thanksgiving visit to Afghanistan, serving turkey and thanking the troops in 2019.
Here are some stories from Deseret News archives about Bush’s surprise visit, why U.S. presidents travel under cover of secrecy and the unique relationship the commander and chief has with his military troops:
“Bush visit to Iraq buoys U.S. troops”
“Secret trips a presidential prerogative”
“Iraqis unmoved by ‘big’ visits”
“President Bush makes a surprise visit to Iraq”
“Bush makes surprise visit to Baghdad, meets with prime minister”
“At Camp David for Thanksgiving, Bush calls service members”
