RIP: George Herbert Walker Bush

[Peter Gunn]

As when our great friend Lt. Runnels passed, the WWII generation of all our countries that left home to fight tyranny and save the world from destruction will soon be gone, we will not see their like again.

Fair winds and blue skies Mr. President, I know Barbara is waiting for you.

 

[Peter Gunn]

Mine never came. All I got was a DD214 in octoplicate. And no, I wasn't a BCD!

I gotta' tell ya Wes, every time I see one of your posts now, this guy comes to mind: Picture of the day.

I can see you giving that young officer the ride of his life as if it were a walk in the park for you.

 

[Torch]

No matter your political leanings you've got to admire HW, if for nothing else his WWII war record. The youngest Naval aviator at that time. On September 2, 1944 piloting one of four Grumman TBM Avengers of VT-51 that attacked the Japanese installations on Chichijima. His plane was hit by anti-aircraft fire and his engine caught fire. Nonetheless he completed his bombing run and then flew out to sea several miles, luckily. Both he and his radioman bailed out but only Bush's parachute opened. He was rescued by an American sub while the crews of the other three Avengers (also shot down and bailed out but closer to the island) were captured by Japanese boats.
In perhaps one of the grizzliest atrocities of the war the other five crewmen captured by the Japanese were tortured and beheaded and later eaten by the Japanese commander and his top officers. Of the 8 men on that mission only HW survived
HW went on to fly 58 combat missions for which he received the Distinguished Flying Cross, three Air Medals, and the Presidential Unit Citation.
While the light fades from sight,
And the stars gleaming rays softly send,
To thy hands we our souls, Lord, commend.

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His book is very good

 

[parsifal]

I wish him clear skies and have no axe to grind about his political service either. He had a difficult job which I think he did well enough and without managing to p*ss off all his allies along the way

 

[Hansie Bloeckmann]

Blue skies...…...

And Unlimited Ceilings"--

 

[Hansie Bloeckmann]

Without getting into the political morass of today, did anyone notice on the TV coverage of the passing of our 41st. Commander-In-Chief-- how the mood of the Bush family in attendance in the National Cathedral seemed to change as POTUS Trump and his FOTUS entered the seating area in the nave?? America is the greatest country, but in reviewing our line-up of POTUS since JFK--- we have somehow survived in spite of the: (1) Bumbling of the Texas "wheeler-dealer" that put us in swamp/quagmire of a war we could never win--(2) Another USN WW11 veteran, who left office in disgrace- (3) Another WW11 veteran, who was too honest, and lost to a peanut farmer- (4) Same peanut farmer, also a USN veteran (atomic powered submarines his forte) but an "outsider" in the crapfest of D.C. politics, and the author of the Iran hostage rescue FUBAR- (5) A Hollywood actor-- 'nuff said- (6) then Bush, No. 41- the one bright and shining star in this whole line-up- Honest, decent, loved Country and his family-- No sense going any further, out of respect and admiration of our 41st. Commander-In-Chief, as whenever I think of "Slick Willie" putting the wreath on the Tomb of The Unknowns on 11/Nov.- I want to throw up. Hansie