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First lady shows support for veterans in NYC

NEW YORK — First lady Michelle Obama shook hands with wounded veterans and handed them goody bags stocked with New York Yankee caps and teddy bears in a visit to a Bronx veterans hospital before taking in Game 1 of the World Series.

Mrs. Obama was joined by Jill Biden, wife of the vice president, and baseball officials on the New York visit. The first lady has been a vocal advocate for veterans and military families in the nine months since her husband became president.

“I’m happy with every minute that I spend time with our men and women in uniform and our veterans,” Mrs. Obama told a crowd of veterans and hospital staff at the James J. Peters VA Medical Center, who responded with three standing ovations. “Each and every day, they selflessly and courageously serve this nation.”

She called on all Americans to “take the time to be more aware of these heroes in our midst, and honor them by doing more service not just for them, but for all our communities.”

But she got the biggest cheers when she acknowledged the duty of the government to guarantee veterans “the care that they were promised and the benefits that they have earned.”

Mrs. Obama noted that a defense bill signed by her husband into law Wednesday “gives the family members of wounded veterans federal family leave protection so that they can care for their loved ones without losing their jobs, something very simple, very basic.”

And she made a point to thank the staff that cares for veterans. Many employees at the hospital, unable to get into the room where the first lady spoke, lined the hallways for a glimpse of her.

The first lady later visited patients in the hospital’s spinal cord injury unit, giving them gifts of Yankee paraphernalia, including teddy bears, baseball caps, baseballs and other gifts.

Major League Baseball is dedicating Game 1 to veterans and their families. Also, the Yankees have traditionally set aside seats at games for military veterans. This season, some of those seats were in the priciest part of the ballpark, when fans balked at paying for the expensive tickets.

Mrs. Obama and Biden were joined at the hospital by Bob DuPuy, chief operating officer of MLB; former infielder Charlie Hayes, a member of the Yankees’ 1996 World Series championship team; and Jennifer Steinbrenner Swindal, George Steinbrenner’s daughter and a Yankee executive.

And though Mrs. Obama wore no baseball attire — just a long-sleeved blouse in a vivid print and dark slacks — and was careful not to indicate a preference in Wednesday’s game, her fellow speakers were not similarly restrained. “I wore my Yankee colors!” announced the hospital’s director, MaryAnn Musumeci. This was the Bronx, after all.

Afterward, some of the veterans in the audience said they were exhilarated by the first lady’s visit.

“I think it’s just great,” said Gerald Brown, 62, who told of being shot three times in Vietnam, once in the shoulder and twice in the stomach. He has been treated since the late ‘60s for post-traumatic stress disorder and other problems, and sees two psychiatrists and three psychologists at the hospital.

“They shouldn’t forget our Vietnam veterans,” said Brown. “I just hope President Obama keeps on supporting us and our families.”

Johnnie Williams was wearing a jacket that said: “Johnnie, Tet, 67-68.” The 61-year-old Vietnam veteran called Mrs. Obama’s visit “simply fantastic, and uplifting.”

“Her visit shows she’s one of a group of people today who are finally looking at veterans as a number one priority,” Williams said.