More News

Those efforts drew the attention of President George W. Bush, who invited McGrew and representatives of 10 other organizations set up to help wounded soldiers to the White House last month.

‘‘It was an awesome day for me,” McGrew said. ‘‘It was very memorable. It was a day I will never forget.”

She said Bush did not talk about the problems at Walter Reed during the meeting in the Oval Office. The meeting was arranged because Bush wanted to thank the people that have been helping the soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, McGrew said. He wanted to know how the organizations got started and hear stories about how they help.

Operations Second Chance raised $354,000 last year and has already used $200,000 of it on assisting soldiers. Members of the group visit soldiers, take them to sporting events, help pay bills and pick up their groceries.

McGrew visits Walter Reed’s main lobby frequently and many soldiers know her by name.

She has never visited Building 18, where The Washington Post reported seeing signs of neglect, including cockroaches, stained carpets, mold and dirty mattresses.

‘‘I don’t have anything bad to say about Walter Reed,” McGrew said. ‘‘Their medical staff is the best in the country. I see nothing but miracles every single day. You will always have issues, but Walter Reed is doing a great job on the medical side.”

During the Feb. 28 visit, Bush and McGrew talked about one of the soldiers Operation Second Chance has helped, Adam Kisielewski, 23, of Frederick.

Kisielewski had been one of the soldiers protecting the President at Camp David.

Kisielewski served as a squad leader for the 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marines Gulf Company. He arrived in Iraq in July 2005 and was injured a month later when a bomb exploded in a school he was visiting.

He is a double amputee. He lost part of his right leg and left arm and stayed at Walter Reed from October 2005 to October 2006. McGrew met Kisielewski at Walter Reed in December 2005.

With the help of Operation Second Chance, Kisielewski finished renovating the basement of his Frederick home last week. He was happy to hear McGrew was recognized at the White House for her efforts.

‘‘She is an inspiration,” he said. ‘‘Any help people can give her organization is [directly] helping the soldiers from Iraq.”

Kisielewski said the conditions of his stay at Walter Reed were great. He was largely unaware of the problems with conditions in some living quarters at Walter Reed.

‘‘I never knew anything about that stuff until recently on the news,” Kisielewski said. ‘‘It is unfortunate Walter Reed got such a bad name. They have done so much good for me and they get ignored for the good they do.”

McGrew is looking forward to being able to do more to help the soldiers. She does not take a salary and uses every dollar collected for the soldiers.

‘‘This is urgent month to month,” McGrew said. ‘‘We have to keep the donations coming. Our goal is to continue this going for as long as we need to.”

For more

To learn more aboutOperation Second Chance, visit www.operationsecondchance.org.