For Diane Worman, meeting President George W. Bush May 24 and having a private 10-minute meeting with him was the experience of a lifetime. Yet at the same time, it was bittersweet since he was offering condolences to her on the recent loss of her son, Army Spc. Matthew Koch, in Iraq. She and her husband, along with a Greece family, the Schramms, who lost their son Brian in Iraq, both had private meetings with President Bush after being called by Rep. Thomas Reynolds' office. Worman, a teaching assistant at Taylor Elementary School, said she thought the president would meet momentarily with the families. Instead, she and her husband and stepson, Lt. Col. John Worman, USMC, of Chili, had a 10-minute meeting with him. "The president just walked into the room without any fanfare. It was just him, an aide and a photographer. He was very warm and low-key. He said, 'Hi Mom,' and gave me a hug and a kiss," she said. Worman told him a story about Matthew and gave him a flyer about a project that his fellow soldiers are starting in Iraq in his name to collect school supplies for children. Worman told him she was reading his mother's autobiography and he autographed it. The family also received a presidential coin. For information about the Help the Iraqi Children Project, contact spckochproject@aol.com. The organization is seeking school supplies, principally pencils, erasers, notebooks and folders to send to Iraq. |
