WASHINGTON, Nov. 26 (UPI) -- Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz hosted a pre-Thanksgiving dinner Wednesday at the Pentagon to honor nearly 70 recently wounded U.S. service members.
The American Forces Press Service said the service members were wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan and Wolfowitz said he wanted to honor them and their families and to thank them for their contributions to the war on terror.
The dinner was attended by many military officers, including Air Force Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Marine Gen. Peter Pace, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs; Gen. Peter Schoomaker, Army chief of staff; Adm. Michael Mullen, vice chief of naval operations; Gen. Spider Nyland, assistant commandant of the Marine Corps; and Gen. Michael Moseley, vice chief of staff of the Air Force.
The guests of honor were all patients at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington and the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md.
Wolfowitz told the wounded service members: "You are American heroes who have been on the front lines in Afghanistan and Iraq, taking the battle to the enemy. You are the reason millions of Americans can travel safely and feast in prosperity on this Thanksgiving Day."
