To the dismay of his four-star generals, the new secretary was talking about pulling American soldiers out of Saudi Arabia, the Sinai Desert, Kosovo and Bosnia.
But then Pakistan announced it planned to bolster its force by pulling soldiers from the border with Afghanistan.
Sergeant Hendrix was killed in February by a roadside bomb in Iraq after pulling fellow soldiers from a burning vehicle.
"If Governor Bush thinks he's going to pull American soldiers out of peace-keeping in Europe, he hasn't learned the lessons of the two world wars we fought and the cold war."
Shay pulled several struggling soldiers from the rising tide, saving many immobilized wounded from drowning during the first wave of the landing of Omaha Beach on D-Day.
This May, a year after he was elected, Mr. Barak did fulfill his pledge to pull soldiers out of southern Lebanon after a 22-year occupation.
Mr. Sharon says that he is committed to pulling Israeli settlers and soldiers out of Gaza next year, but that he does not intend to leave under fire.
He then sent officers into town to pull sailors and soldiers from the bars.
Then a woeful shout went up as a spark of light danced through the army, pulling soldiers together into its wake to slam into the ones coming from the other side.
Bates pulled soldiers off women that they were molesting, and on several occasions, had pistols held to his head.