Ex-presidents witness wounded vet's marriage proposal

KENNEBUNKPORT, Maine — A soldier who was badly wounded in Afghanistan has proposed to his girlfriend in Maine while two former presidents looked on.

George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush and their first ladies watched as retired Army Spc. Tyler Jeffries proposed to Lauren Lilly at the Bush summer home in Kennebunkport. The elder Bush tweeted his congratulations, wishing them "a lifetime of joy together."

Jeffries is from Florida. He lost his legs in an explosion in 2012. Two friends helped him drop to a prosthetic knee to propose Monday.

The 41st president's longtime chief of staff, Jean Becker, says they "all cried" afterward.

The wounded veterans invited to Walker's Point for the proposal were featured in the book "Unbreakable Bonds: The Mighty Moms and Wounded Warriors of Walter Reed."

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