The urban legend e-mail, which has picked up steam in the past two weeks, claims Washington was so impressed with the Fisher House efforts that he ‘pulled out his checkbook on the spot and wrote a check large enough to pay for construction of a new Fisher House at BAMC.The e-mail, which incorrectly refers to the hospital as “Brookes” Army Medical Center, also claims that Washington made the donation because his son is a soldier serving in Iraq.
The problem, according to Fisher House President David Coker, is that while Washington did make a ‘sizeable’ donation to the program, the e-mail claim is almost entirely bogus.
“Denzel came to visit with the soldiers and Marines being cared for at Brooke Army Medical Center last December 17th,” Coker said. “He visited with them and told them how much he respects their service. He also toured one of the two Fisher Houses at Brooke Army Medical Center.”
Washington told Coker at the time he would like to make a commitment to support the work of Fisher House.
“Denzel did not take out a checkbook and write a check on the spot,”Coker says. “He seldom carries a check book with him.”
Coker said Washington did in fact make a sizeable donation to Fisher House several months after his visit to BAMC. He declined to comment on the size of the donation, but it was not enough to build a new Fisher House.
Full story here:
WOAI: San Antonio News – What Denzel Washington Really Did at BAMC