Updated

Updated · Fox News · Jul 2

Lee Greenwood Recalls 1989 Panama Mission Under Fire After Bush Sent Him to 200 Marines

Updated

Updated · Fox News · Jul 2

Lee Greenwood Recalls 1989 Panama Mission Under Fire After Bush Sent Him to 200 Marines

Q: What was in the presidential letter Lee Greenwood risked his life to deliver to troops under fire in Panama?

It is not publicly known from the available reporting what President George H.W. Bush’s letter said. The news account says Lee Greenwood delivered a letter from Bush to Marines during Operation Just Cause and came under fire on the way, but neither the interview summary nor the additional sourced material discloses the letter’s contents. The supporting web content repeatedly confirms Greenwood’s dangerous trip to entertain troops in Panama, yet it does not provide the text of the message or quote any portion of it. What can be verified is the broader purpose of Bush’s Panama mission at the time: Operation Just Cause was described by the administration as intended to neutralize Manuel Noriega’s forces, protect American lives, and help restore democratic government in Panama. Any letter to troops would likely have related to that mission and morale, but that would be inference, not confirmed fact. So the accurate answer is that the contents of the presidential letter have not been revealed in the material currently available.

3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jul 2

Lee Greenwood said on Sean Hannity’s podcast that he came under gunfire in Panama after President George H.W. Bush sent him to entertain U.S. troops during the mission against Manuel Noriega.
A courier gave Greenwood a letter from Bush for 200 Marines in the jungle, and while riding in a jeep to reach them, bullets hit the vehicle and wounded the sergeant driving him, costing the soldier an index finger.
Greenwood said he reached the Marine compound safely, delivered the letter and later learned the troops went out and killed the attackers.
Years later in Ohio, Greenwood said he reunited backstage with the wounded driver, and the two embraced over surviving a moment when they both could have been killed.
The interview tied the episode to Greenwood’s long military outreach, including the 40-year legacy of "God Bless the USA" and his work with service members ahead of America’s 250th anniversary.