Bush will go bed to bed and ward to ward at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the National Naval Medical Center, meeting in all with some 75 veterans and their families, according to a senior aide who requested anonymity.

The US leader "doesn't look forward to these visits, in one way, because it's difficult, but he knows how necessary it is," said the official. But "he really tries to be the consoler-in-chief."

In addition to handing out Purple Heart medals to war-injured soldiers, Bush will be joined by First Lady Laura Bush to "witness two Marines who fought for our country, who were injured for our cause become citizens today," he added.

Although he would not give names or citizenships of birth, the official said one of those taking the oath to become a US national was a master gunnery sergeant who took shrapnel to his right side and head in Iraq.

Legal permanent residents of the United States can serve in the US military.

Bush was not going to meet with Jessica Lynch, the 19-year-old US prisoner of war whose dramatic rescue earlier this month captivated Americans, because she has not yet been transferred from Germany to Walter Reed.

Bush, who has previously met with injured veterans of the campaign to topple the Taliban in Afghanistan, tries to cheer the soldiers he sent into harm's way as well as any family members present, said the White House aide.

After the Afghan offensive, the US leader sought to lift the spirits of some US Special Forces who lost their legs by telling them the inspirational story of a man he knew when he was governor of Texas.

The man, "a real competitive guy," had lost a leg, but promised Bush, an avid runner, that he would beat the then-governor in a footrace. He got a prosthesis, "became an unbelievable runner," and frequently jogged with Bush.

Bush "recognizes, lying in bed when this just happened to them their vision of their future is grim, so he gives them a message of hope and inspiration with a personal story, saying 'you're going to be running one day, I promise,'" said the anonymous official.

"He views this as a vital part of his job," said the aide. "For him it's a real human reminder of why it is so important that every option for peace be exhausted first, which is what he tried to do here."

Still, when he sees the young men and women hurt after he sent them to war, "he takes that hard," said the official.

SPACE.WIRE