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Last edited Sun Jan 13, 2019, 10:49 AM - Edit history (1)
I still remember the breaking news with Dan reporting. And Lenny Skutnik's appearance at the SOTU shortly after the accident is credited with starting the trend of POTUSes having special "guests" in the gallery during a speech. Such people are colloquially known as "Skutniks" today:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Lenny_Skutniks
List of "Lenny Skutniks"
1982
Lenny Skutnik was indicated as an example of the American ideal; immediately before noting Skutnik, Reagan first pointed out Jeremiah Denton, a Senator who had formerly been held as a prisoner of war in Vietnam.
1984
Reagan pointed to Sergeant Stephen Trujillo, a medic during the Invasion of Grenada in October 1983.
1999
Clinton pointed out Rosa Parks for her role as an icon of the American Civil Rights Movement. Sammy Sosa, a right fielder in Major League Baseball who had surpassed Roger Maris's home run total of 61 in a single season, was pointed out for his athletic achievements and role in rededicating a rebuilt hospital in the Dominican Republic.
2000
Clinton pointed to a number of people: Tom Mauser, father of Columbine victim Daniel Mauser and anti-gun Advocate; Lloyd Bentsen, former United States Senator from Texas and former Treasury Secretary; Tipper Gore, then Second Lady of the United States; Carlos Rosas, a father from Minnesota; Captain John Cherrey, airman who served during the Kosovo Conflict; and William Cohen, then-Secretary of Defense, with his wife, Janet Langhart.
2002
Lisa Beamer, widow of Todd Beamer, a victim of the September 11, 2001 attacks aboard United Airlines Flight 93, who possibly led the charge against that aircraft's hijackers, was pointed to by George W. Bush. Tony Blair, then Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, was also pointed to by the President.
2003
Two members of the new Afghan government, interim leader Chairman Hamid Karzai and Minister of Women's Affairs, Dr. Sima Samar, were welcomed and mentioned by George W. Bush. Shannon Spann, widow of CIA officer and Marine Michael Spann who was killed in Mazar-e-Sharif, was also pointed out by the President. Finally, George W. Bush thanked Hermis Moutardier and Christina Jones, two flight attendants on American Airlines Flight 63, aboard which an attempted suicide bombing was prevented by their actions.
2004
Adnan Pachachi, the President of the Iraqi Governing Council, was pointed to by George W. Bush.
2007
Four individuals were pointed to in the "heroes box": Dikembe Mutombo, a basketball player originally from the Democratic Republic of the Congo who had recently helped fund the building of a hospital in Kinshasa; Wesley Autrey, a New York City construction worker who saved a man who had fallen onto subway tracks; Julie Aigner-Clark, creator of the Baby Einstein toy line; and Sergeant Tommy Riemann, injured in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
2010
Leonard Abess was the longtime owner and CEO of City National Bank of Florida and was cited by Barack Obama for distributing the $60 million sale price of his bank to over 400 current and former employees in the form of bonuses. Although not mentioned in the address, Chesley Sullenberger, who had saved the passengers of his jetliner which he had ditched in Hudson River, was a guest of the President.
2011
Daniel Hernández Jr., the man who saved Gabrielle Giffords's life during the 2011 Tucson shooting, was a guest of President Obama.
2012
Jackie Bray, a single mom from North Carolina who had lost her job and retrained in a program created by Siemens and Central Piedmont Community College, was pointed to by President Obama.[8] Laurene Powell Jobs, the widow of Steve Jobs, was shown when the president mentioned Steve Jobs. Bryan Ritterby, who was hired by a wind turbine manufacturer, was also pointed to. Richard Cordray, the director of the United States Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, was also mentioned. Debbie Bosanke, the secretary of Warren Buffett, was mentioned by the president when he mentioned the Buffett Rule.
2013
Bobak Ferdowsi, a systems engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, had gained media fame in August 2012, when he wore an unusual mohawk hairstyle during the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity landing. Ferdowsi's father was an immigrant to the United States from Iran, and his presence was meant "to highlight President Barack Obama's call for more visas for skilled immigrants in the fields of math, science and engineering."
2014
Army Ranger Sergeant First Class Cory Remsburg, who was almost killed by a massive roadside bomb in Afghanistan, and suffered a three-month coma and partial paralysis as a result.
2016
Former United States Air Force staff sergeant Spencer Stone, who helped foil a terrorist attack on a Paris-bound train travelling from Amsterdam via Brussels in August 2015. He was a guest of First Lady Michelle Obama.
2018
Coast Guard Petty Officer Ashley Leppert, who rescued dozens of people from a helicopter during Hurricane Harvey; firefighter David Dahlberg, who rescued 62 children from California wildfires; Steve Staub, a business owner who hired more workers on account of recent tax cuts, along with one of his employees, Corey Adams; Preston Sharp, a twelve-year-old who organized the placing of over 40,000 American flags on the graves of veterans; Evelyn Rodriguez, Freddie Cuevas, Elizabeth Alvarado, and Robert Mickens, the parents of two girls who were murdered by members of MS-13; Homeland Security agent Celestino Martinez, who has spent his career fighting violent street gangs; police officer Ryan Holets and his wife Rebecca, who adopted a baby from a homeless woman; Army Staff Sergeant Justin Peck, who rescued his infantry squad mate Kenton Stacy; Fred and Cindy Warmbier, parents of Otto Warmbier, who died as a result of mistreatment by North Korea; Ji Seong-ho, who escaped from North Korea and whose siblings had to eat dirt to assuage their hunger.
List of "Lenny Skutniks"
1982
Lenny Skutnik was indicated as an example of the American ideal; immediately before noting Skutnik, Reagan first pointed out Jeremiah Denton, a Senator who had formerly been held as a prisoner of war in Vietnam.
1984
Reagan pointed to Sergeant Stephen Trujillo, a medic during the Invasion of Grenada in October 1983.
1999
Clinton pointed out Rosa Parks for her role as an icon of the American Civil Rights Movement. Sammy Sosa, a right fielder in Major League Baseball who had surpassed Roger Maris's home run total of 61 in a single season, was pointed out for his athletic achievements and role in rededicating a rebuilt hospital in the Dominican Republic.
2000
Clinton pointed to a number of people: Tom Mauser, father of Columbine victim Daniel Mauser and anti-gun Advocate; Lloyd Bentsen, former United States Senator from Texas and former Treasury Secretary; Tipper Gore, then Second Lady of the United States; Carlos Rosas, a father from Minnesota; Captain John Cherrey, airman who served during the Kosovo Conflict; and William Cohen, then-Secretary of Defense, with his wife, Janet Langhart.
2002
Lisa Beamer, widow of Todd Beamer, a victim of the September 11, 2001 attacks aboard United Airlines Flight 93, who possibly led the charge against that aircraft's hijackers, was pointed to by George W. Bush. Tony Blair, then Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, was also pointed to by the President.
2003
Two members of the new Afghan government, interim leader Chairman Hamid Karzai and Minister of Women's Affairs, Dr. Sima Samar, were welcomed and mentioned by George W. Bush. Shannon Spann, widow of CIA officer and Marine Michael Spann who was killed in Mazar-e-Sharif, was also pointed out by the President. Finally, George W. Bush thanked Hermis Moutardier and Christina Jones, two flight attendants on American Airlines Flight 63, aboard which an attempted suicide bombing was prevented by their actions.
2004
Adnan Pachachi, the President of the Iraqi Governing Council, was pointed to by George W. Bush.
2007
Four individuals were pointed to in the "heroes box": Dikembe Mutombo, a basketball player originally from the Democratic Republic of the Congo who had recently helped fund the building of a hospital in Kinshasa; Wesley Autrey, a New York City construction worker who saved a man who had fallen onto subway tracks; Julie Aigner-Clark, creator of the Baby Einstein toy line; and Sergeant Tommy Riemann, injured in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
2010
Leonard Abess was the longtime owner and CEO of City National Bank of Florida and was cited by Barack Obama for distributing the $60 million sale price of his bank to over 400 current and former employees in the form of bonuses. Although not mentioned in the address, Chesley Sullenberger, who had saved the passengers of his jetliner which he had ditched in Hudson River, was a guest of the President.
2011
Daniel Hernández Jr., the man who saved Gabrielle Giffords's life during the 2011 Tucson shooting, was a guest of President Obama.
2012
Jackie Bray, a single mom from North Carolina who had lost her job and retrained in a program created by Siemens and Central Piedmont Community College, was pointed to by President Obama.[8] Laurene Powell Jobs, the widow of Steve Jobs, was shown when the president mentioned Steve Jobs. Bryan Ritterby, who was hired by a wind turbine manufacturer, was also pointed to. Richard Cordray, the director of the United States Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, was also mentioned. Debbie Bosanke, the secretary of Warren Buffett, was mentioned by the president when he mentioned the Buffett Rule.
2013
Bobak Ferdowsi, a systems engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, had gained media fame in August 2012, when he wore an unusual mohawk hairstyle during the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity landing. Ferdowsi's father was an immigrant to the United States from Iran, and his presence was meant "to highlight President Barack Obama's call for more visas for skilled immigrants in the fields of math, science and engineering."
2014
Army Ranger Sergeant First Class Cory Remsburg, who was almost killed by a massive roadside bomb in Afghanistan, and suffered a three-month coma and partial paralysis as a result.
2016
Former United States Air Force staff sergeant Spencer Stone, who helped foil a terrorist attack on a Paris-bound train travelling from Amsterdam via Brussels in August 2015. He was a guest of First Lady Michelle Obama.
2018
Coast Guard Petty Officer Ashley Leppert, who rescued dozens of people from a helicopter during Hurricane Harvey; firefighter David Dahlberg, who rescued 62 children from California wildfires; Steve Staub, a business owner who hired more workers on account of recent tax cuts, along with one of his employees, Corey Adams; Preston Sharp, a twelve-year-old who organized the placing of over 40,000 American flags on the graves of veterans; Evelyn Rodriguez, Freddie Cuevas, Elizabeth Alvarado, and Robert Mickens, the parents of two girls who were murdered by members of MS-13; Homeland Security agent Celestino Martinez, who has spent his career fighting violent street gangs; police officer Ryan Holets and his wife Rebecca, who adopted a baby from a homeless woman; Army Staff Sergeant Justin Peck, who rescued his infantry squad mate Kenton Stacy; Fred and Cindy Warmbier, parents of Otto Warmbier, who died as a result of mistreatment by North Korea; Ji Seong-ho, who escaped from North Korea and whose siblings had to eat dirt to assuage their hunger.
On edit: I confused the Reagan Assassination attempt with AF Flt 90 in regards to what big breaking story took place shortly after Rather took over for Cronkite...
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