Obama Honors SEALs Who Killed bin Laden

President also addresses troops at Fort Campbell
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted May 6, 2011 4:04 PM CDT
Obama Honors SEALs Who Killed bin Laden
President Obama greets military personnel prior to addressing troops Friday at Fort Campbell, Ky.   (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

President Obama met privately today with the special ops forces who killed Osama bin Laden and gave them a presidential citation, reports MSNBC. In addition to the elite Navy SEALs who took part in the raid, Obama also met at Fort Campbell with the Army helicopter pilots known as Night Stalkers who flew the mission. Afterward, he spoke to about 2,000 troops recently returned from Afghanistan and praised the special forces publicly, notes CBS.

"They trained for years; they're battle-hardened," he said. "They practiced tirelessly for this mission. And when I gave order, they were ready. In recent days, the whole world has learned just how ready they were." He added to cheers: "Job well done." Obama also told a moving story about a 14-year-old girl, Payton Wall, he met at yesterday's Ground Zero ceremony. She wrote to him recalling how her father had called home from inside the World Trade Center to say goodbye. She's the girl Obama promised to help meet Justin Bieber. (More President Obama stories.)

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