Thank You For Your Setvice, Sir!!

I would have liked a better headline.

“Former 41st President of the United States of America, Son, Husband, Father, WW II Navy Veteran, Mentor and Friend has passed away at the age of 94.

Thank You So Very Much For Your Service, Sir”

Push Hard, Press Forward
 
A great American, and a member of the Greatest Generation.

RIP.
 
I know I’ve posted this well-known poem before, by John Gillespie McGee, but to respect President Bush’s service as a wartime naval aviator and to salute the fact he did parachute jumps for his birthdays, as well as his long career of service, here it is for him. Rest in peace with your beloved Barbara. Fair winds and following seas, shipmate.

High Flight

"Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of earth,
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I've climbed and joined the tumbling mirth of sun-split clouds -
and done a hundred things You have not dreamed of -
wheeled and soared and swung high in the sunlit silence.
Hovering there I've chased the shouting wind along
and flung my eager craft through footless halls of air.
Up, up the long delirious burning blue
I've topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace,
where never lark, or even eagle, flew;
and, while with silent, lifting mind I've trod
the high untrespassed sanctity of space,
put out my hand and touched the face of God."
 
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My favorite quote from him:

"Be bold in your caring, be bold in your dreaming and above all else, always do your best."
 
I had the honor of serving as a junior staffer in the White House of the first President Bush. Dessert Storm was over, but I was there for the Clarence Thomas confirmation, the ongoing dissolution of the Soviet Union, and the re-election campaign. The President went from sky-high poll numbers to an agonizing election loss in less than two years. Yet his legacy is strong.

It was a heartbreaking end, but he should go down in history as perhaps the most decent, most genuine, most dedicated person to ever occupy the White House. Starting at the callow age of 18, he served his country fully and faithfully for the next 50 years. His story is an unparalleled American dream.

RIP, Mr. President. We have the watch.
 
Trailing winds and following seas, Sir. We have the watch.
 
For those who may be interested in the other 9 flyers who went down when then Lt. Bush parachuted into the Pacific, I recommend
Flyboys: A True Story of Courage by James Bradley.
 
Child of New York Investment Banker.
Graduate of Phillips Andover
Enlisted on 18th Birthday
Shot Down over the Pacific at 20
58 Combat Missions before his 21st Birthday
Successful self-made Oilman
With the possible exception of George Washington, arguably the most qualified occupant of the Oval Office. I know GW didn’t have an Oval Office.
Pilloried by the likes of Pat Buchanan and Ross Perot, who aren’t/weren’t half the men.
Departed his Office and lived out his life with grace and class, devoid of resentment.

Somehow, TYFYS just doesn’t seem adequate.
 
“For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skywards, for there you have been and there you will long to return.”
 
cb7893 said:
Child of New York Investment Banker.
Graduate of Phillips Andover
Enlisted on 18th Birthday
Shot Down over the Pacific at 20
58 Combat Missions before his 21st Birthday
Successful self-made Oilman
With the possible exception of George Washington, arguably the most qualified occupant of the Oval Office. I know GW didn’t have an Oval Office.
Pilloried by the likes of Pat Buchanan and Ross Perot, who aren’t/weren’t half the men.
Departed his Office and lived out his life with grace and class, devoid of resentment.

Somehow, TYFYS just doesn’t seem adequate.
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President HW Bush had a stellar post-Presidential service as well. One of the hardest working retired presidents for so many causes. In my opinion, a President's legacy is also tied to their post-service years, and I count him as one of the greats.

Perot, a Navy Veteran and awardee of the West Point Thayer award was no slouch and also a great public servant even if he didn't agree with Bush the first.

I had the pleasure of meeting Bush 1 in Kennebunkport, purely by accident. He loved to walk to his favorite restaurant and meet the tourists. His smile was infectious.
 
Requiescat in Pace, Sir

Hopefully there will be a Navy component to the funeral. President Ford's hearse stopped at the WWII Memorial and he was piped aboard by a Sailor. I couldn't tell if it was a Bosun's Mate but he blew that pipe perfectly in honor of his service.
 
DesertCaliMom said:
Perot, a Navy Veteran and awardee of the West Point Thayer award was no slouch and also a great public servant even if he didn't agree with Bush the first.
Click to expand...

“Didn’t agree with Bush the first”? He personally disliked Bush the first because the US Gov’t did not believe there were US POW’s in Indo-China. That was Perot’s hobby horse, much like Citizen Trump’s questioning of President Obama’s birth certificate.

I’ll assume you are too young to remember the 1992 election.

Perot, with no chance of winning, ran a campaign which all agree siphoned off votes from Bush. He got 19% of the popular vote. Bill Clinton got a majority of the vote in only Arkansas and DC. Despite that, show me a single quote from HW that blames Perot for his loss. I do remember President Elect Clinton including Perot voters in his win column.

Maybe it would have been better if Perot had won. Maybe we would have gotten unqualified egomaniacal blowhards out of our system for a couple of generations.
 
cb7893 said:
“Didn’t agree with Bush the first”? He personally disliked Bush the first because the US Gov’t did not believe there were US POW’s in Indo-China. That was Perot’s hobby horse, much like Citizen Trump’s questioning of President Obama’s birth certificate.

I’ll assume you are too young to remember the 1992 election.

Perot, with no chance of winning, ran a campaign which all agree siphoned off votes from Bush. He got 19% of the popular vote. Bill Clinton got a majority of the vote in only Arkansas and DC. Despite that, show me a single quote from HW that blames Perot for his loss. I do remember President Elect Clinton including Perot voters in his win column.

Maybe it would have been better if Perot had won. Maybe we would have gotten unqualified egomaniacal blowhards out of our system for a couple of generations.
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Not gonna debate a bygone election in a memorial thread. Simply, both were members of the same generation and were men who served.
 
**QUOTE REMOVED**

So much for taking politics elsewhere.☹️
President Bush was a Good man- who believed in the Country, believed in respect for the country’s institutions, believed in civility, respect for his opponents and personal humility ( it wasn’t always about him!) . He served his country as a warrior ( became a genuine hero & was awarded the DFC as a 20 year old Naval Aviator) and went on to start a highly successful oil exploration business before becoming a politician. In his post Presidential years he became a potent advocate for relief efforts around the world. I don’t see many out there - Leaders or otherwise, with his record of service, or his personal values- but I surely wish there were more who possessed them now because the Country and the World surely need them. RIP to a Good Man who served his Country well.
 
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