"Too_Many_Tools" wrote in message
...
And did he get to wear his cute little fighter jacket again that his
mommy made for him?

I wonder if he wears it to bed for Laura?

Hmmm...ever consider how history would be difference if Bush Sr. had
been shot down during WWII?

TMT


A presidential welcome for USS George H.W. Bush
By DEB RIECHMANN, Associated Press Writer Deb Riechmann, Associated
Press Writer 50 mins ago
NORFOLK, Va. – It's the perfect gift for an old Navy flier: 1,092 feet
of flattop.

"What do you give a guy who has been blessed and has just about
everything he has ever needed?" asked President George W. Bush from
aboard the Navy's newest ship. "Well, an aircraft carrier."

The USS George H.W. Bush, a steel-gray vessel longer than three
football fields and built at a cost of $6.2 billion, was commissioned
Saturday with its namesake, the 41st president, and other members of
the Bush family on hand for the ceremonies at Naval Station Norfolk.

Adorned for the day with red, white and blue bunting, the USS George
H.W. Bush is one of the Nimitz class of nuclear-powered aircraft
carriers, the largest warships in the world.

"The ship that bears our dad's name is more than 95,000 tons of
aluminum and steel," Bush said from a podium tucked under the flight
deck. "She will carry nearly 6,000 of the finest sailors and Marines
in the world. She represents the craftsmanship of many skilled
builders, and thousands of hours of preparation."

Bush, who took his last scheduled flight aboard Air Force One to get
to Norfolk, added: "Laura and I are thrilled to be here to help
commission an awesome ship and to honor an awesome man."

It was the ultimate honor for former President George H.W. Bush, a
decorated World War II pilot.

The former president recalled the day 65 years ago in Philadelphia
when he attended the commissioning of the USS San Jacinto, a light
carrier on which he served during the war. It was during that trip, he
said, that he gave his fiancee, Barbara, an engagement ring.

"I thought that the San Jac was by far the biggest ship, or anything
else, I'd ever seen," said the elder Bush, comparing it to the massive
aircraft carrier, spit and polished for its unveiling. He marveled at
its 4.5-acre landing field, a tower that reaches 20 stories above the
waterline and its 1,400 telephones.

Speaking to the sailors preparing to serve on the new ship, his voice
quavering at times with emotion, the former president said: "I wish I
was sitting right out there with you, ready to start the adventures of
my naval aviation career all over."

Bush, 84, joined the Navy on June 12, 1942, his 18th birthday and six
months after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. During the war he
flew torpedo bombers off the USS San Jacinto. He was awarded the
Distinguished Flying Cross and three Air Medals for his service.

On a mission over the Pacific in September 1944, Bush's plane crashed
into the ocean after being hit by Japanese anti-aircraft fire. The
future president parachuted into the sea and was rescued by a Navy
submarine. He returned to combat and served until the end of the war.

The Nimitz class of nuclear-powered aircraft carrier was first
launched in 1972. The USS George H.W. Bush is the 10th and final
vessel of its type.

A bronze statue on its hangar bay deck depicts the former president as
a youthful, smiling pilot in his flight suit. On an upper deck, a
"tribute room" presents Bush's life from his days in the Navy to his
four years in the White House.

No other former president has visited a carrier named after him.
Ronald Reagan was the first living ex-president to have a carrier
named in his honor, but he was unable to visit the vessel before he
died.

Doro Bush Koch, the president's sister and ship's sponsor, had the
honor of bringing the carrier to service, calling out: "Man our ship.
Bring her to life." With that, hundreds of sailors charged up
gangplanks as a band played "Anchors Aweigh," the song of the Navy.

Four F-18s flew overhead, followed by a solo World War II torpedo
bomber similar to the one the elder Bush flew during the war.

The president's daughters, Jenna Hager and Barbara Bush, and Vice
President Dick Cheney and his wife, Lynne, were among the throng of
attendees. Also on hand were Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice,
Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine.

___

Associated Press writer Steve Szkotak in Norfolk, Va., contributed to
this report.

___

On the Net:

Background on carrier: http://www.nn.northropgrumman.com/bush/



back home you go spammer! too many fools