BUSH
AT PEACE
hard job, but for which I volunteered, knowing the consequences
and knowing the potential consequences, and I went and did
my job, and I got seriously injured. But being seriously injured
doesn’t make me a hero any more
than it makes me a victim,” Gade
said. “And so I just think that it’d
be great if both sides could take
a step back — you know, put the
dead goat down — and say, ‘Let’s
treat these people for who they
are, for what they are. And let’s
not pretend that everybody’s a
hero. And let’s certainly not pretend that everybody’s a victim,
because neither is true. They’re
both caricatures.’”
For Bush, riding mountain bikes
with the veterans is sharing with
them what has been, for him, an
important escape from burdens
and concerns. But helping veterans readjust to civilian life is also
one of the top priorities for the
former president and his institute.
Gade said he once heard thenPresident Bush t