A very grateful U.S President George W. Bush was in Halifax on this date in 2004. His mission? To thank Canada and Canadians for providing shelter and friendship to the thousands of Americans stranded in Canada when American airspace was closed on the horrible day that was 9/11.“Three years ago, Halifax and other towns and villages -- from Newfoundland to Manitoba to the Northwest Territories to British Columbia -- welcomed, as the Prime Minister (Paul Martin) mentioned, more than 33,000 passengers on diverted flights,” Bush said. “For days after September the 11th, Canadians came to the aid of men and women and children who were worried and confused and had nowhere to sleep. You opened your homes and your churches to strangers. You brought food; you set up clinics; you arranged for calls to their loved ones, and you asked for nothing in return. One American declared, ‘My heart is overwhelmed at the outpouring of Canadian compassion. How does a person say 'thank you' to a nation?’ Well, that's something a President can do. And so let me say directly to the Canadian people, and to all of you here today who welcomed Americans, thank you for your kindness to America in an hour of need.”You can read the full text of President Bush’s remarks, and listen to audio of the speech as well, at this link.[caption id="attachment_596965" align="alignleft" width="400"] Prime Minister Paul Martin and President George W. Bush[/caption]Arthur Milnes is an accomplished public historian and award-winning journalist.  He was research assistant on The Rt. Hon. Brian Mulroney’s best-selling Memoirs and also served as a speechwriter to then-Prime Minister Stephen Harper and as a Fellow of the Queen’s Centre for the Study of Democracy under the leadership of Tom Axworthy.  A resident of Kingston, Ontario, Milnes serves as the in-house historian at the 175 year-old Frontenac Club Hotel.