THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, December 25, 1994 TAG: 9412250060
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PHILIP WALZER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Short : 41 lines
Two members of the military with local ties who are stationed in Europe got a Christmas eve bonus: a call from President Clinton.
Clinton phoned two members from each of the five branches to thank them for their service overseas.
Among them were Francisco Alejandro Saldanacervantes, an aviation storekeeper third class stationed on the carrier Eisenhower, which is in Cannes, France, and Doris Earley, a Navy petty officer second class, serving in Croatia with the Navy's Fleet Hospital Five.
Earley is stationed in Philadelphia. But the hospital, which is on a six-month deployment to Croatia, is headquartered in Portsmouth.
Earley, 27, from Greensboro, Fla., told Clinton, ``It's mighty cold here now,'' with temperatures in the teens and 17 inches of snow.
Clinton said: ``I know it's really tough duty, but I'm really grateful to you. . . . It's our part of dealing with a difficult situation.''
Earley is the leading petty officer in the hospital's intensive care unit. She helps supervise four junior corpsmen and helps care for patients.
Saldanacervantes, 21, is from El Monte, Calif., and the Eisenhower is based in Norfolk. Jeannie Campbell, a public affairs officer for the U.S. Atlantic Fleet, said she spoke with him shortly after Clinton called.
``He said he was very honored to have received a phone call from the president of the United States,'' Campbell said. MEMO: The Associated Press contributed to this story. ILLUSTRATION: Photos
Francisco Alejandro Saldanacervantes, aboard the Eisenhower, and
Doris Earley, serving with the Navy's Fleet Hospital Five, received
calls.
by CNB