Costa Rica’s Carlos Arrendondo, wearing a white cowboy hat, who was photographed helping a severely injured Bauman during last year’s bombing of the Boston Marathon, is among the U.S. first lady Michelle Obama’s guests at the State of the Union address Tuesday.
[quote]”Carlos Arredondo and Jeff Bauman are forever linked due to the attacks on the 117th Boston Marathon. In what has become an iconic image from the day in April of 2013, Carlos — wearing his white cowboy hat — was captured rushing a badly injured Jeff away from the bombing to safety, thereby becoming two of the faces of ‘Boston Strong.'”
The White House uses Mrs. Obama’s seating area in the chamber of the House of Representatives during her husband’s annual speech to Congress to highlight people and issues that are important to her and the administration.
[quote]The guests include Carlos Arredondo and Jeff Bauman, survivors of the Boston Marathon attack; Gary Bird, the fire chief of Moore, Okla.; Jason Collins, the 12-year NBA basketball player who announced last year that he is gay; Joey Hudy, an Intel intern from Arizona; and Kathy Hollowell-Makle, the District of Columbia’s Teacher of the Year.[/quote]
Other guests will be announced before the speech, the White House said.
A tradition since the Ronald Reagan administration, presidents invite guests to illustrate various issues discussed in the State of the Union.
The Costa Rican government should officially recognize this man. He rushed in and saved lives when most others were running for cover or simply stunned. The Boston Marathon is a truly international event with participants from all over the globe, and the world witnessed this man’s heroism. An act of recognition by Costa Rica’s president would certainly mean a lot to Arredondo, and would be a classy act by the outgoing president.