FROM NAVY TO POLITICS, BUSH SERVED USA
Family, leaders extol 41st president
Leaders around the world are mourning the death of George H.W. Bush, a war hero, the patriarch of an American political dynasty and the nation’s 41st president, who oversaw the end of the Cold War and espoused the value of service with “1,000 points of light.” “There is no higher honor than to serve free men and women, no greater privilege than to labor in government beneath the Great Seal of the United States and the American flag,” Bush told senior staffers in 1989, days after he took office. Bush died shortly after 10 p.m. Friday at his home in Houston, according to a statement from a family spokesman. The longest-living president in American history, he used a wheelchair in recent years after being diagnosed with a form of Parkinson’s disease. “(He) was a man of the highest character,” said his son, former President George W. Bush. “The entire Bush family is deeply grateful for 41’s life and love, for the compassion of those who have cared and prayed for Dad.” Though most well known for his Texas ties — Bush’s presidential library is at Texas A&M University — Bush spent his early life in Massachusetts, and famously spent many summers at his summer home in Kennebunkport, Maine. Bush was born in Milton, and attended Phillips Academy in Andover. He then joined the Navy, flying 58 missions off the carrier USS San Jacinto. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for bravery. Bush’s plane was shot down on Sept. 2, 1944, while completing a bombing run against a Japanese radio tower. Leading up to his single term as president, Bush made the rounds in government service, serving as a congressman, an ambassador to the United Nations and envoy to China, chairman of the Republican National Committee, director of the CIA, two-term vice president and, finally, president. During his term, the Cold War came to an end, the culmination of years of diplomatic efforts by Ronald Reagan and others. “It was a time of great change, demanding great responsibility from everyone. The result was the end of the Cold War and nuclear arms race,” said Mikhail Gorbachev, the former Soviet premier. “(We) deeply appreciated the attention, kindness and simplicity typical of George and Barbara Bush, as well as the rest of their large, friendly family.” As president, Bush sought to make the United States a “kinder, gentler” nation and called on Americans to volunteer their time for good causes — an effort he said would create “a thousand points of light.” In retirement, Bush continued to emphasize kindness and understanding, at one point shaving his head in solidarity with the son of a member of his security detail who was battling leukemia. “He was in fact the first American President that I was privileged to meet. I recall being deeply touched by your father’s concern for
the Tibetan people and the situation in Tibet. It is truly admirable to have lived over 94 years,” said the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader, in a statement directed to Bush’s children. “While nothing can replace the loss of a father, we can rejoice in the fact that his was a meaningful life, dedicated to public service. I commend your parents for encouraging their children, including you my dear friend, to devote yourselves to the service of others.” In later years, Bush piloted his speedboat, played tennis and golf. On his 72nd, 80th, 85th and 90th birthdays, he reprised his World War II parachute jumps. Herald wire services contributed to this report.