Article snippet: As President Donald Trump faces criticism over his comments to the widow of Sgt. La David Johnson, the families of the fallen say their conversations with past American presidents attempting to offer condolences sometimes drew their grief into sharp relief. Trump called Myeshia Johnson Tuesday in an effort to console her. According to Rep. Frederica Wilson, D-Fla., Trump told the widow that her husband, who died in an Oct. 4 ambush in Niger, “knew what he signed up for … but I guess it still hurt.” Trump denied making those comments. Trump also claimed Monday that his predecessors often failed to call families of the deceased. “President Obama I think probably did sometimes, and maybe sometimes he didn’t, I don’t know,” Trump said. “Other presidents did not call, they’d write letters, and some presidents didn’t do anything.” Some families who received presidential condolences in the past told ABC News they found some comfort in those calls. When he lost his son, Army Sgt. James “Jimmy” J. Regan in 2007, James P. Regan received a phone call from President George W. Bush. The president reportedly met in private with the families of the soldiers killed in action and sent thousands of personal letters during his time in office. Jimmy had been killed in action Feb. 9, 2007 in northern Iraq of wounds suffered when his vehicle was struck by an explosive. Over a year later, at the rededication of the U.S.S Intrepid, Bush and first lady Laura Bush sp... Link to the full article to read more