My name is George Herbert Walker Bush and I was born March 9, 1924 in Milton, Massachusetts, to Dorothy Walker Bush and Prescott. My father was a banker who went on to represent Connecticut in the U.S. Senate from 1952 to 1963. I grew up in Greenwich, Connecticut, and graduated from Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, in 1942. I enlisted in the Navy on my 18th Birthday and served the US military in World War II as a naval aviator. In less than a year, I completed flight training at NAS Corpus Christi, Texas, and went on to fly TBM Avengers with VT-51. For a time, I was the youngest pilot in Naval Aviation. On the morning of September 2, 1944 I was shot down over the Northern Pacific Ocean and parachuted safely into the water, dangerously close to the shore. Once in the water, I unleashed my inflatable yellow lifeboat, crawled in, and paddled quickly out to sea. The Japanese sent out a boat to capture me. Circling fighter planes transmitted my situation and position to the U.S. submarine Finback that was patrolling 15 to 20 miles from the island. A few hours after transmitting my position, Williams, then a commander, sighted me on the periscope about seven miles away from shore. He ordered the submarine to the surface. I saw this thing coming out of the water and I said to myself,”Jeez, I hope it's one of ours!” I was taken inside Finback and the sub quickly submerged. Later I was awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross. This was one of the most dramatic moments of his life -- an experience which gave me a "sobering understanding of war and peace." There's no question that it broadened my horizons and helped me prioritize important things throughout my life. On January 6, 1945, while on leave from the Navy, I married Barbara Pierce in 1925 in Rye, New York. We met as teenagers at a dance. We later had six children: George, Robin, John (known as Jeb, Neil, Marvin and Dorothy. After completing my military service in September 1945, I enrolled at Yale University, where he studied economics and was captain of the baseball team and was a member of Skull and Bones, an elite secret society. I graduated in 1948 then moved my family to Texas, where I began a prosperous career in the oil industry, and eventually became president of an independent offshore oil drilling company. I began my political career in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1967. During the 1970s, I held a variety of government posts, including CIA director. I was a two-term U.S. vice president under Ronald Reagan, from 1981 to 1989. In 1988, I defeated Democratic rival Michael Dukakis to win the White House. I served as the 41st U.S. president from 1989 to 1993. In office, I launched successful military operations against Panama and Iraq. Sadly in 1992 I lost my bid for re-election to Bill Clinton. In 2000, My son George W. Bush was elected the 43rd U.S. president; he served until 2009. After leaving the White House, my wife Barbara and I divided our time between homes in Houston, Texas, and Kennebunkport, Maine. In 1997, the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum opened to the public on the campus of Texas A & M University in College Station, Texas, I was honored. I worked with my successor, Bill Clinton, to raise funds for victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004 and Hurricane Katrina in 2005. I am an adventure seeker and went skydiving on my 70th, 80th and 85th birthdays.
We are sadden with the passing of George HW Bush. Ayden worked on the report for over a month and as a family gained such fondness for 41 and his family. He will be missed by many but leaves a legacy of integrity, honesty and love for all.
No comments:
Post a Comment