Bush Promises Troops ‘Biggest Fourth of July Since Liberty Bell’

WASHINGTON —  President Bush on Monday predicted that the country will honor American troops for their triumph in the Persian Gulf War “with the biggest Fourth of July since the Liberty Bell first rang.”

The White House also announced plans for Bush to attend his first homecoming for returning troops in Sumter, S.C., next Sunday. Sumter is the home of Shaw Air Force Base, which will be celebrating the return of two wings of F-16 fighters stationed in Saudi Arabia during the war against Iraq.

Bush told state attorneys general at the White House that he is looking forward to this summer “because then I think the whole country will honor them again with the biggest Fourth of July since the Liberty Bell first rang.”