George H. W. Bush Presidential Library, College Station, Texas April 25, 2022
The George H. W. Bush Presidential Library is on the campus of Texas A&M University.
Known as "The Beast" , the President's Limo has bullet proof windows as thick as phone books and bullet proof tires with wheel inserts which keep the limo moving. There is a remote starter with a bomb detector, a self-healing fuel tank, a supplemental supply of oxygen, and layers of Kevlar under the car's sheet metal from top to bottom.
The creation of the Secret Service began in 1865 to suppress counterfeit currency production. However, following the assassination of President William McKinley in 1901, Congress informally requested Secret Service Presidential protection.
Protection became law during President Truman's term. Today the Secret Service is authorized by law to protect the President, Vice President, the President-elect and Vice President-elect and their immediate families; former Presidents and their spouses; children of former presidents until age 16; visiting heads of foreign states or governments;
major Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates.
The entrance into the George Bush Library was enormous.
George Bush's ancestors emigrated from England to Massachusetts in the mid 17th century. George's paternal grandfather Samuel P. Bush (1863-1948) was a mechanical engineer who became president of the Buckeye Steel Castings Company in Columbus, Ohio.
George's father, Prescott Bush (1895-1972) was a Yale graduate who served in the Army during World War I. He became a senator late in life.
"An imposing man of six feet four inches, my father was perhaps
the most powerful influence in my life."
George Bush
George's mother Dorothy (1901-1992) was born near Walker's Point, Maine. She met Prescott,
an up and coming businessman with the Simmons Hardware Company while living in in St. Louis, Missouri.
They were married in 1921. They had five children: Prescott Jr, George, Nancy, Jonathan, and William.
"By example he taught all five of his kids a great deal about character.
He did it through action, not words."
George Bush
Dad didn't spoil us by giving us a lot of stuff.
We were never conscious of his wealth.
We were always conscious of his achievement and respect."
George Bush
George Bush attended Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts from 1937 to 1942 where he was chairman of Student Deacons, captain of the baseball and soccer teams, a conscientious student, and president of his senior class.
He went to work for McCall's in 1921 and became president of the company 25 years later.
Pauline Robinson Pierce's father was a member of Ohio's first Supreme Court. She attended Ohio's Oxford College.
They met while in college and married in 1918. Barbara was the third of four children born.
Scott, Martha, Barbara, and James Pierce.
Barbara, at the age of seven, was an avid reader.
George Bush was the first man she ever kissed. "When he was in the room I could hardly breathe. He was the most handsome man, bar none, that I had ever seen." (after meeting him at Christmas Dance)
Barbara Bush
Barbara, Bucky (George's little brother) and George
Barbara Pierce's graduation photo from Ashley Hall in June, 1943.
George Bush signed up for a new intense 10 month aviator-training program on June 12, 1942, his 18th birthday. Officials realized that air power was essential to win the War in the Pacific; therefore, the Navy was prompted to drop its two years of college requirement for pilots because they needed pilots immediately.
George Bush went through flight training at Wold-Chamberlain Naval Airfield in the bitter cold of Minneapolis, Minnesota. George learned take-offs, landings, spins, and how to deal with frostbite. The biplane's cockpit was totally open to the elements exposing the pilots to the frigid air. No wonder he had the tight fitting cap and fur lined suit.
George became a torpedo bomb pilot.
"Today was the big day-in fact, one of the biggest thrills of my life. There I was alone in the plane. Everything seemed so free and easy and really wonderful."
George Bush (writing about his first solo flight)
On June 19, 1944, one week after his twentieth birthday, Bush had to ditch his plane in the South Pacific during the greatest aircraft carrier battle in history, known as the Marianas Turkey Shoot. His aircraft experienced severe engine trouble immediately after being catapulted off the deck of the USS San Jacinta.
Between January 24, 1944 and November 29, 1944, George Bush made 116 successful landings on the San Jac's flight deck.
George named his planes after his sweetheart, Barbara.
The USS Finback was assigned to lifeguard duty in the Bonin Islands where she rescued a total of three downed pilots and two crewmen...one of which was George Bush.
After his rescue, George Bush remained on the Finback for thirty days while the submarine undertook a war patrol off the coast of Japan.
When George returned home on leave and on January 7, 1945 the couple married.
Barbara Bush standing at the 9th hole of the golf course at The Cloisters Resort during her honeymoon.
George Bush on Sea Island, Georgia, during his honeymoon on January, 1945.
A plane like the one George Bush flew during WW II.
Upon returning from the war, George Bush attended Yale University.
George Bush graduated from Yale and then headed to Odessa, Texas to work in the oil industry. With a job offer to train at IDECO, a subsidiary of Dresser Industries, Barbara stated, " This was an adventure the three of us had signed up for together."
1947 Studebaker Champion Regal Deluxe 2 door Sedan. The Bush family drove one like this when they moved to Texas.
While Barbara Bush was pregnant with their second child, Robin, Barbara's parents were in a automobile accident that killed her mother immediately.
Robin died at the age of 3 from leukemia in 1953.
The Bush family, including a very pregnant Barbara, just prior to moving to Houston to keep up with the demands of George's successful offshore oil business.
While working for IDECO, George Bush really did learn the oil business from the ground up, with jobs ranging from sweeping the floor to painting oil field equipment in the heat of a West Texas afternoon.
After selling his Zapata Offshore Oil Company, George Bush began his political career by campaigning for the 7th District's Congressional seat.
1967-70
US ambassador to the United Nations serving from 1971-73.
The Bush family had an extensive elephant collection...most likely due to the mascot of the Republican party.
President Nixon asked George Bush to be the leader of the Republican National Party.
Bush replied, "I believe politics to be a noble calling."
George Bush with his four sons, Neil, Jeb, George W. and Marvin.
Bush replied, "I believe politics to be a noble calling."
President Ford asked George Bush to be the foreign ambassador to China. He and Barbara gladly accepted.
President Ford next appointed George Bush to head the CIA. Bush immediately pushed for programs that created electronic listening posts and new reconnaissance imaging satellites. Today these satellites are manned by the CIA and the Department of Defense.
Ronald Reagan selected George Bush as his running mate as Vice President.
They served two terms together 1980-1988.
President Bush on a difficult trip, visiting the Marines after the terrorist bombing in Beirut in 1983.
George Bush ran for president with Dan Quayle in 1988.
George Bush served as the 41st president of the United States from 1989-1993
A replica of the oval office can be walked through at the George Bush Library.
George Bush family
What a fun story!
Barbara Bush was a believer in volunteerism. Her charitable interests included: America's Second Harvest food banks, homeless missions, AIDS awareness and treatment, National Committee for Prevention of Child Abuse, the Leukemia Society of America.
Adoption, Ronald McDonald House, Eugene Lang's "I Have A Dream" Foundation, Boys and Girls Clubs, organ donation and transplantation, United Way, Hispanic American Family of the Year Program.
Barbara Bush was a very busy First Lady.
The Situation Room is staffed by a number of senior officers from various agencies.
The Situation Room was used during the Gulf War Incident. George Bush was determined that Saddam's aggression be met with a collective response. The Cold War with the Soviet Union had ended. The U.S. was enjoying improved relations with China. President Bush hoped to get the cooperation of those prominent countries in forging international unity to oppose Iraq.
Unlike the Korean and Vietnam Wars, the Gulf War was a coalition effort. The chart above shows the deployment of troops from the other nations involved. The United States deployed the most at 532,000 troops, with the other countries supplying 205,000.
Saddam Hussein not only pillaged Kuwait during the Gulf War; he attacked the region's environment as well. Iraqi Army forces destroyed oil tankers, terminals, oil wells, and Saudi Arabian desalinization plants.
They opened pipelines at the Kuwait's Sea Island Terminal, flooding Kuwait lands with over a million barrels of oil and the northern end of the Persian Gulf with eight million barrels of oil covering 600 square miles of sea surface, wreaking havoc on migratory birds, coastal wetlands, shellfish, sea turtles, and coral.
Hussein ordered his army to blow up over 760 Kuwaiti oil well heads. These wells burned an estimated one billion barrels of oil by the time they were all extinguished leaving a legacy of respiratory health issues for the folks who lived in the region.
Squads of British minesweepers systematically removed, detonated, and defused these mines. From the end of the conflict through December 2002, 1.1 million anti-personnel mines and 568,000anti-vehicle mines were disposed of.
Despite a last minute surge in the polls by the President, Governor Clinton won November 3 with 43 percent of the vote to Bush's 37.4 percent and Perot's 18.9 percent.
1993 and continued to participate in charity work.
George Bush purchased this 28-foot Cigarette boat in 1973 with proceeds from the sale of his stock in the Fidelity Printing Company of Houston, Texas; hence the name Fidelity.
George Bush loved to parachute jump. He made seven jumps in his later years to celebrate milestones and special events.
The presidential library displayed a wall of George Bush's distinguished awards.
A visit to Walker's Point at Kennebunkport, Maine is a family tradition. Purchased originally by George's maternal grandfather and great-grandfather as a family vacation place.
Sully H. W. Bush, a two year old yellow Labrador Retriever, became George Bush's helper/companion in June 2018. He remained by his side until his death on November 30, 2018. He now works with veterans at Walter Reed National Military Center in Bethesda, Maryland.
A crowd in Navasota, Texas, pays their respects as President George H. W. Bush's
funeral train passes through their community.
The funeral train arrives on the campus of Texas A&M University, Bush's final resting place.
Rendering of the U.S. Postal Service stamp issued June 12, 2019 in honor of President Bush.
Monument to Freedom by Veryl Goodnight, Dedicated October 11, 1997.
After 28 years, the visible sign of the Cold War ended.
Hon. George Bush June 12, 1924 — Nov. 30, 2018
Barbara P. Bush June 8, 1925 — April 17, 2018
Robin Bush Dec. 20, 1949 — Oct. 11, 1953
Larry and I have always enjoyed visiting the Presidential Libraries. We enjoyed the walk back through history during our visit at the George H. W. Bush Library.
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