Sen. Lieberman, McCain, and Carnahan visiting with a wounded soldier in January, 2002.
During my brief tenure in the U.S. Senate, I served on the Armed Services Committee with Sen. John McCain. One of the great events in my life was being part of the first congressional delegation to Afghanistan after 9/11, where we met with leaders in the region, visited wounded soldiers, and got a feel for the evolving situation we were having to deal with back home.
Sens. McCain and Lieberman jointly led the congressional delegation in January 2002. On my left is Sen. Susan Collins. Here we are being briefed before landing in Kabul, Afghanistan.
Words of Encouragement
Some months later, Sen. McCain called me over to his desk on the Senate floor. He could be a man of few words so I took what he said to heart. “If you ever have a reporter or someone at home who wants to know how you’re doing up here, send them over to my office. I’d be glad to talk to them.” That was it. It was a most gracious offer and one that was very meaningful to me at the time.
Fight on, old soldier!
