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In mid-December 2004, Denzel Washington (reportedly at the suggestion of a veteran known as Ranger Jones whom the actor met while filming the 1988 Civil War epic Glory) paid a visit to Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas. The popular actor took part in a Purple Heart ceremony, presenting medals to three Army soldiers who were recovering in the hospital from wounds received in Iraq. The city's Express-News newspaper described one of the medal recipients' reaction to her encounter with the screen star: Fort Sam Houston, which houses the Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC), also includes on its property two Fisher House facilities within walking distance of the medical center. Fisher Houses are a network of comfort homes, essentially low-cost hotels built on the grounds of military medical centers in the U.S. and abroad that provide all the amenities of home and enable family members of servicemento stay close to loved ones who are undergoing medical treatment for illness, disease, or injury. The free accommodations at Fisher Houses make them accessible even to familes with tight budgets (a situation common to many military families). With the U.S. military's having been engaged in combat operations in Afghanistan and Iraq during the previous few years, the demand for space in Fisher Houses at some military facilities exceeded their capacities at the time Denzel Washington visited to Fort Sam Houston in December 2004. According to the Fisher House Foundation, the actor did visit the facility's Fisher House and learn of its need for additional facilities, and he did later make a substantial donation to the Fisher House Foundation. However, the story became a bit exaggerated with the addition of claims that Mr. Washington got out his checkbook on the spot and wrote a check for the full amount needed to construct a new building: As subsequent news accounts noted, the viral email describing Washington's visit and donation contained multiple inaccuracies: Evidently the confusion came about when the commander of the Brooke Army Medical Center simultaneously announced plans for a new Fisher House facility (costing about $1.5 million) near BAMC and the news of Mr. Washington's donation. People quite naturally associated the two news items with each other and mistakenly assumed Mr. Washington had donated the full amount required to build the new facility. One version of the Denzel Washington e-mail in circulation concludes: By the way ... He has a son who is a Marine in Iraq. Although Denzel Washington does have two sons (and also two daughters), neither of his sons was a Marine or was stationed in Iraq. At the time this piece first circulated, one son was far too young to be serving in the military (he was still a teenager in school), and the older son, John David Washington, was then a practice-squad running back with the St. Louis Rams football team. Denzel Washington is well known for his philanthropy, reportedly having made large charitable donations such as $1 milllion to the Children's Fund of South Africa and $2.5 million to the Church of God. A reworking of a classic humorous anecdote plays on his reputation for generosity: Photographs of Denzel Washington's visit to BAMC can be viewed here.
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