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
\u201cI\u2019m going to send you to Panama,\u201d Greenwood recalled Bush telling him on the\u00a0\u201cHang Out With Sean Hannity\u201d<\/a>\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 <\/a>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<\/a>. \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 Lee Greenwood speaking on Sean Hannity\u2019s podcast. Fox News<\/p>\n Greenwood said<\/a> 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