2

"Seeing all of them there, away from
the Oval Office and the White House, it
was as though they had put the current
war in the Persian Gulf on hold, at least
for a little while, while they took the
time to come to Fort Myer and honor
the commanding general of another
invasion," the observer noted.

"His brilliant role in the liberation of
Panama was a fitting grace note to a
great career," Bush said of the four-star
general. "As was always the case, Gen.
Thurman rose to the occasion, as we
knew he would."

The ceremony was to have taken place
several months ago. Thurman, who
turned 60 of Feb. 18, was due to leave
the Army after 35 years of service in
1989. Then Cheney exempted him from
mandatory retirement to put him in
charge of the U. S. Southern Command,
based in Panama. From that post,
Thurman led the invasion that toppled
Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega.

Shortly after the completion of
"Operation Just Cause" by the American
troops, Thurman entered the hospital for
the treatment of leukemia.

In addition to his many tours of duty
and commands, Thurman was cited for
having set the standards for the modern
day Army. Among his many assignments
was the training of troops and the
procurement of weapons.

"It was at General Thurman's
insistence that the deadly Patriot
missile, so successful in helping win this
war, was financed," said one of the
speakers.

In spite of his brilliant military career,
Thurman probably will be remembered
by the general public for his successful
recruitment message to potential
enlistees to "Be all you can be."

Acting for Gov. Jim Martin,
Congressman Howard Coble presented
Thurman with the "Order of the Long
Leaf Pine."

Coble commented that Martin would
have been there to bestow the honor,
but having put a freeze on out-of-state
travel, Martin didn't think he should be
the first to break his own rule.