Tweet
...Glock 18C.
Link.
Link.
Bush memento once owned by foe may go on display
When the library for George W. Bush opens in 2013 on the Southern Methodist University campus in Dallas, visitors will likely get to see one of Bush's most treasured items: the 9 millimeter Glock 18C found in the hole where Saddam Hussein was captured.
By DON VAN NATTA Jr. The New York Times
Published: Monday, July 6, 2009 at 1:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Sunday, July 5, 2009 at 10:46 p.m.
Many American presidents have kept prized possessions within reach during their White House years. Franklin D. Roosevelt cherished a 19th century ship model of the USS Constitution. One of Dwight D. Eisenhower's favorite gifts was an engraved Steuben glass bowl from his Cabinet. And sitting on John F. Kennedy's desk in the Oval Office was a paperweight made from a coconut shell he had carved with a distress message after his PT-109 was sunk during World War II.
The objects have been bequeathed to the American public, accessible through a visit to each man's presidential library and museum.
And so when the library for George W. Bush opens in 2013 on the campus of Southern Methodist University in Dallas, visitors will most likely get to see one of his most treasured items: Saddam Hussein's pistol.
The gun, a 9 millimeter Glock 18C, was found in the spider hole where the Iraqi leader was captured in December 2003 by Delta Force soldiers, four of whom later presented the pistol to Bush. Among the thousands of gifts he received as president, the gun became a favorite, a reminder of the pinnacle moment of the Iraq war, according to friends and longtime associates.
Before Bush left the White House in January, he made arrangements for the gun to be shipped to a national archives warehouse just 18 miles north of his new home in Dallas.
His foundation said a final decision had not been made on including the gun in the presidential library. But his associates and visitors to the White House said Bush had told them of his intention to display it there.
For nearly five years, Bush kept the mounted, glass-encased pistol in the Oval Office or a study, showing it with pride, especially to military officials, they said. He also let visitors in on a secret: When the pistol was recovered, it was unloaded.
One longtime friend of Bush, who like others spoke on condition of anonymity, said the gun had become as important to Bush as the police shield given to him by Arlene Howard, the mother of a New York Port Authority officer, George Howard, who died on Sept. 11. He still keeps the shield with him, the friend said.
The gun is one of 40,000 artifacts and gifts the Bushes had collected, including the bullhorn Bush used to address rescue workers at ground zero and a special-edition Cooperstown baseball bat signed by every living Hall of Famer.
The George W. Bush Presidential Center will cost $200 million. More than $100 million has already been donated, according to several of Bush's friends.The odyssey of the gun began on Dec. 13, 2003, when Saddam was discovered in the 8-foot-deep hole on a farm near Tikrit. Steve Russell, a retired Army lieutenant colonel who helped lead the mission and is now a Oklahoma state senator, said Saddam had been crouched on all fours, the gun on the floor.
In early 2004, one of the soldiers came up with the idea of presenting the gun to Bush. On March 1 that year, the Delta Force men surprised the president with the pistol at an Oval Office meeting.
When the library for George W. Bush opens in 2013 on the Southern Methodist University campus in Dallas, visitors will likely get to see one of Bush's most treasured items: the 9 millimeter Glock 18C found in the hole where Saddam Hussein was captured.
By DON VAN NATTA Jr. The New York Times
Published: Monday, July 6, 2009 at 1:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Sunday, July 5, 2009 at 10:46 p.m.
Many American presidents have kept prized possessions within reach during their White House years. Franklin D. Roosevelt cherished a 19th century ship model of the USS Constitution. One of Dwight D. Eisenhower's favorite gifts was an engraved Steuben glass bowl from his Cabinet. And sitting on John F. Kennedy's desk in the Oval Office was a paperweight made from a coconut shell he had carved with a distress message after his PT-109 was sunk during World War II.
The objects have been bequeathed to the American public, accessible through a visit to each man's presidential library and museum.
And so when the library for George W. Bush opens in 2013 on the campus of Southern Methodist University in Dallas, visitors will most likely get to see one of his most treasured items: Saddam Hussein's pistol.
The gun, a 9 millimeter Glock 18C, was found in the spider hole where the Iraqi leader was captured in December 2003 by Delta Force soldiers, four of whom later presented the pistol to Bush. Among the thousands of gifts he received as president, the gun became a favorite, a reminder of the pinnacle moment of the Iraq war, according to friends and longtime associates.
Before Bush left the White House in January, he made arrangements for the gun to be shipped to a national archives warehouse just 18 miles north of his new home in Dallas.
His foundation said a final decision had not been made on including the gun in the presidential library. But his associates and visitors to the White House said Bush had told them of his intention to display it there.
For nearly five years, Bush kept the mounted, glass-encased pistol in the Oval Office or a study, showing it with pride, especially to military officials, they said. He also let visitors in on a secret: When the pistol was recovered, it was unloaded.
One longtime friend of Bush, who like others spoke on condition of anonymity, said the gun had become as important to Bush as the police shield given to him by Arlene Howard, the mother of a New York Port Authority officer, George Howard, who died on Sept. 11. He still keeps the shield with him, the friend said.
The gun is one of 40,000 artifacts and gifts the Bushes had collected, including the bullhorn Bush used to address rescue workers at ground zero and a special-edition Cooperstown baseball bat signed by every living Hall of Famer.
The George W. Bush Presidential Center will cost $200 million. More than $100 million has already been donated, according to several of Bush's friends.The odyssey of the gun began on Dec. 13, 2003, when Saddam was discovered in the 8-foot-deep hole on a farm near Tikrit. Steve Russell, a retired Army lieutenant colonel who helped lead the mission and is now a Oklahoma state senator, said Saddam had been crouched on all fours, the gun on the floor.
In early 2004, one of the soldiers came up with the idea of presenting the gun to Bush. On March 1 that year, the Delta Force men surprised the president with the pistol at an Oval Office meeting.
Comment