F   "One of the unsung heroes of the Gulf War. . . . We could not have coped in Baghdad without Joe Wilson.

--Dan Rather, from his 1994 book THE CAMERA NEVER BLINKS TWICE

F   "In the eyes of hostages, he was a hero. 'He stuck out his neck in our behalf. . . he worked so hard to keep us from falling apart,' recalled Roland Bergheer, 75, a Bechtel Corp. manager who was trapped in Baghdad. . . . A conservative who lives in Las Vegas, Bergheer added: 'I love Joe Wilson. . . . I don't give a damn what his politics are.' . . .   'The fact that somebody worked in the White House for a particular administration does not brand them,' said Chester A. Crocker, an assistant secretary of state under President Ronald Reagan. He called Wilson 'eminently professional.'

-- from an October 1, 2003, Washington Post article by Richard Leiby

F   "The chief American diplomat, Joe Wilson, shepherds his flock of some 800 known Americans like a village priest. At 4:30 Sunday morning, he was helping 55 wives and children of U.S. diplomats from Kuwait load themselves and their few remaining possessions on transport for the long haul on the desert to Jordan. He shows the stuff of heroism.

--from a 1990 story by Robert Novak and Rowland Evans about Wilson, quoted on page 344 of THE POLITICS OF TRUTH

F   "It is relatively easy to speak out from the safety and comfort of Washington; what you are doing day in and day out under the most trying conditions is truly inspiring. Keep fighting the good fight; you and your stalwart colleagues are always in our thoughts and prayers."

--President George H.W. Bush, from a November 29, 1990, telegram to Acting Ambassador Joseph Wilson in Baghdad

F   "With deep appreciation for your outstanding service to the nation, and with warmest personal regards."

--Secretary of State James Baker, from an inscribed photograph to Wilson after his return to Washington from Baghdad on the eve of Desert Storm

F   "Some day I need to write how Joe Wilson took care of the foreign community like no other diplomat had in all my years of living abroad. I told my wife that if it weren't for Joe there are ten Bechtel people that probably wouldn't be here today.

        A short story:  As we were leaving Iraq on the 9th of December, 1990, the first ten Bechtel employees to enter the Baghdad airport were pulled aside and made to sit on the floor in a room by themselves. Of course, I was at the head of the line.  It seems there was an arrest warrant out for all Bechtel employees. We sat there all day while everyone else was issued their boarding passes. Joe and the American lady that had joined the embassy staff fought like tigers with the Iraqi officials.  We could hear them yelling and arguing with the Iraqis for hours.  Finally, just as the plane started to load we were given our boarding passes. I don't think we would have been allowed to leave if Joe hadn't fought so hard."

--Correspondence of Richard Biaseti, former Bechtel employee