First Lady Visits Families of Troops Sent to Bosnia

On the eve of her front-line visit to Bosnia, Hillary Rodham Clinton comforted anxious military families Sunday, declaring U.S. troops “so ready, so focused” for their dangerous peacekeeping mission.

Accompanied by her daughter, Chelsea, the first lady opened an eight-day tour of Europe that promises a mix of diplomacy, politics and sightseeing.

It began emotionally: At stop after stop, the first lady met with wives, husbands, children and friends of soldiers deployed in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Standing in a mess hall filled with lonely hearts, Mrs. Clinton said, “We are grateful for the sacrifice that every one of you make.”

The Baumholder Army base houses the 1st Armored Division, which left few soldiers behind after its Bosnia deployment. Mrs. Clinton’s first stop was at services honoring a Baumholder soldier killed Friday in a vehicle accident in Bosnia.

“This means a lot, this visit,” said Dawn Gaylord, who is five months pregnant and alone because her husband is in the former Yugoslav federation. “She’s a mother. She’s a wife. She knows what it’s like to be separated from her husband.”

The highlight of the trip may come today, when the first lady is expected to address troops in Bosnia. She is scheduled to visit troops at a relatively secure U.S. base, then travel by helicopter to posts outside the camp.

The first lady then will head to Turkey and Greece to promote her campaign for the rights and welfare of women and children.

The trip comes as the first lady struggles to recover from fresh allegations about her role in the Whitewater and travel office affairs that have submarined her election-year poll ratings.