Bush Consoles Families of Soldiers Killed in Iraq

President Bush honored fallen soldiers and consoled their bereaved families Monday in a visit to this sprawling Army base that has lost 31 troops since the conflict began in Iraq.

The president lunched with soldiers, met privately with families and delivered his most extensive commentary to date on the growing number of casualties in Iraq.

“Every person who dies in the line of duty leaves a family that lives in sorrow, and comrades who must go on without them,” Bush told thousands of servicemen and servicewomen crowded into an airplane hangar.

“All our military families that mourn can know this: Our nation will never forget the sacrifice their loved one made to protect us all.”

Following the speech, Bush met privately for an hour and 40 minutes with about 100 relatives of soldiers from Ft. Carson who had been killed or wounded.

A White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said it was an emotional meeting and quoted one father whose son had died as telling Bush, “He died for freedom.”

Bush and his administration have come under increasing attack in recent weeks for taking measures that appeared aimed at distancing the president from the rising death toll in Iraq.

Most controversial is the Pentagon’s ban on photographing the arrival of coffins at Dover Air Force Base, home of the military’s mortuary -- a prohibition on the books since 1991 but rarely enforced until the Iraq war.

According to the Pentagon, 431 service members have died since conflict began in March, and 293 since Bush declared the end of major combat on May 1.

White House officials say Bush eschews public memorials in favor of private meetings with families, which he feels show more respect for their grief.

“The president believes that this is an appropriate way to meet with them, to meet privately with them, to express his appreciation both as commander in chief and on behalf of the American people for all that these families have sacrificed,” White House spokeswoman Claire Buchan said on the way to Ft. Carson.

Ft. Carson -- home of several premier fighting units, including the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment -- has sent 12,000 troops to Iraq, the largest deployment from this base near the Rocky Mountains since World War II.

The president described the conflict in Iraq as part of a war that “began more than two years ago, on Sept. 11, 2001,” and argued that U.S. involvement would help make the country more secure.

“The work we are in is not easy, yet it is essential. The failure of democracy in Iraq would provide new bases for the terrorist network and embolden terrorists and their allies around the world,” said Bush, who replaced his suit jacket with an olive drab military jacket. “The failure of democracy in those countries would convince terrorists that America backs down under attack....

“Terrorists have chosen to make a stand and test our resolve,” he said. “Our resolve will not be shaken.”

The audience of about 5,000 military personnel and families crammed into a hangar at Butts Army Air Field gave the president a rousing welcome, with shouts of “U.S.A.” and traditional whoops. At the close of Bush’s remarks, one section began a chant of “Four more years.”

Many soldiers said they were grateful for the president’s efforts to pay his respects.

“I’m glad he said the things that he said because it’s important that these families know that he’s paying attention to them,” said Sgt. 1st Class Shannon Woulard, 34.

“I think he’s doing a good job,” Woulard said. “He’s respecting those families’ privacy and giving them time to mourn.”

Others were more critical.

“I thought he did his best to help these families feel that their losses weren’t in vain, but I don’t feel he has addressed where this war is going,” said Adelaide Kuhn, 43.

She attended the speech with her husband, Sgt. James Bates, who returned home from Iraq this summer.

“Taking part in public memorials doesn’t bring these people back,” she said. “All it does is glorify war, and glorifying war won’t bring these people back.”

Before leaving for Colorado, the president stopped at the Pentagon to sign a bill authorizing $401 billion in military expenditures, including a 4.15% raise for military personnel and increases in combat and family-separation pay.

Bush is spending this week at his ranch near Crawford, Texas, and will travel to Nevada and Arizona today to speak about Medicare and to attend fund-raising events for his presidential campaign.