We have a family friend who was career military, serving four presidents over his 22 years in the Marine Honor Guard. There were only 10 of them and they traveled with the president. When you see the president exit either the helicopter or Air Force One, there’s always a Marine in dress blue at the bottom of the steps standing at attention and saluting. That was Jeff.

We asked him once who his favorite president was, and he answered George Bush Sr., mainly because of the president’s wife. He described her as “real” and with “not a phony bone in her body.” Then he shared a story:

On one flight, Mrs. Bush was talking to others on board, which was always her way. Jeff’s phrase was, “She never knew a stranger.” A Secret Service member, Robert, had a granddaughter, Melanie, age 5, who was having major surgery that day in New York City where she lived. The flight was bound for there and Robert was scheduled for the return flight to D.C. as well. Mrs. Bush said that, no, this isn’t right, and she was “going to do something about this.” She talked to her husband, then he spoke on the phone, and she went back to Robert. She told him it was “all fixed now” — he would not be returning to D.C. but staying in New York where he belonged.

Eight months later, Jeff was on board Air Force One again and Robert was assigned as well. When Mrs. Bush saw Robert, she quickly went to him and said, “Robert, how is Melanie? Did her surgery go alright?” Robert and Jeff were both astonished. Here was the First Lady of the United States, with all that’s on her plate, and yet she remembered him, Melanie, and all of it, eight months later. Melanie came through fine and actually received a Christmas card from Mrs. Bush.

With all the tributes to Mrs. Bush, this story needed to be told as well. She was indeed a class act. Like Jeff said … not a phony bone in her body.

Dottie Flaugher

Wilmington