{"id":3673,"date":"2026-07-04T17:36:40","date_gmt":"2026-07-04T17:36:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=3673"},"modified":"2026-07-04T17:36:40","modified_gmt":"2026-07-04T17:36:40","slug":"lee-greenwood-recalls-surviving-enemy-fire-after-being-sent-to-entertain-troops-in-panama","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=3673","title":{"rendered":"Lee Greenwood recalls surviving enemy fire after being sent to entertain troops in Panama"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Country singer Lee Greenwood recalled being sent to Panama by then-President George H.W. Bush to entertain U.S. troops during the mission against Manuel Noriega, revealing he came under fire before reaching Marines in the jungle.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI\u2019m going to send you to Panama,\u201d Greenwood recalled Bush telling him on the\u00a0\u201cHang Out With Sean Hannity\u201d\u00a0podcast. \u201cTake your band down there. I\u2019ve already taken out the dependents. We\u2019re going to take [Noriega] out\u2026 I want you to entertain our troops.\u201d<\/p>\n

The \u201cGod Bless the USA\u201d singer said his band left first by Chinook helicopter, while a courier handed him a letter from Bush for\u00a0Marines stationed in the jungle.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd a courier had given me a letter from the president to 200 Marines in the jungle,\u201d Greenwood said. \u201cSo, the band\u2019s gone. I jump in a jeep with a sergeant and we\u2026 come under fire and the bullets are whizzing through the jeep.\u201d<\/p>\n

Greenwood said he was not hit, but the sergeant driving the jeep was wounded.<\/p>\n

\u201c[It] took my driver\u2019s finger off right there in the index finger,\u201d Greenwood said. \u201cSo fortunately, I didn\u2019t get hit. We got to the compound where the Marines were, and I showed them where we were, and they went out, and they took out these guys.\u201d<\/p>\n

Operation Just Cause began in December 1989 when nearly 26,000 combat troops were deployed in a mission the U.S. Army says was aimed at neutralizing Noriega\u2019s forces, restoring elected democratic government and protecting American lives.<\/p>\n

Greenwood said the Panama mission came back to him years later when the same driver showed up backstage after a concert in Ohio.<\/p>\n

\u201cI said, \u2018Is he missing a finger?\u2019\u201d Greenwood said. \u201cHe said, \u2018Yes.\u2019 I came out, and we hugged each other, you know, for the moment that we could have both been killed.\u201d<\/p>\n

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He said the episode was one of many\u00a0military visits\u00a0that shaped his career.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember it was 140 degrees in the jungle \u2026 and addressing 150 Marines that are about to go to war,\u201d Greenwood said. \u201cIt\u2019s been like that all over my career whenever I visit military, and that makes me a very proud patriot.\u201d<\/p>\n

The interview focused on Greenwood, his wife, Kimberly, and the 40-year-old legacy of \u201cGod Bless the USA\u201d ahead of America\u2019s 250th anniversary.<\/p>\n

Kimberly Greenwood said their relationship began through USO tours and\u00a0service members.<\/p>\n

\u201cReally, our beginning of our relationship started with patriotism and serving our military,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd that\u2019s what we\u2019ve done for our entire time together.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Greenwood said \u201cGod Bless the USA\u201d was written out of love for the country and respect for those who died serving it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m so proud to know that I wrote it because I love the country,\u201d he said. \u201cI didn\u2019t write it for any other purpose.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The full interview is available now on YouTube, Spotify and Apple Podcasts.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cGod Bless the USA\u201d singer Lee Greenwood revealed he came under fire in Panama while entertaining US troops for President George H.W. Bush. 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