The Marines At the White House Are Showing Respect for George W. Bush That They Did Not Show to President Clinton–Fiction!
Summary of eRumor:
The eRumor claims that the Marines of the presidential “Marine One” helicopter are showing George W. Bush greater respect than they did Bill Clinton. It says that recently, the Marine who met the president as he stepped off the helicopter faced President Bush even as the president walked away…something that was not done during the previous presidency.
The Truth:
Harry Levins of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch looked into this one and found it fiction.
In an article from March 10, 2001, he quotes a spokesperson from Marine Corps headquarters as flatly denying the eRumor. The spokesperson said the Marines assigned to the president’s helicopter have a protocol for greeting the president and have used it equally for both Mr. Clinton and Mr. Bush. That is that the
The Marine at the bottom of the steps salutes the president. As soon as the salute is returned, the Marine does a right face to face the president’s back. The Marine holds that position until the president “has moved a comfortable distance away.”
Any Marines departing from that would not be disrespecting the man, but the presidency, and that would not be tolerated.