A loving son pays tribute to a ‘giving and generous soul’
Speakers remark on Bush’s mix of resolve, humor and empathy
WASHINGTON – George H.W. Bush was heralded Wednesday as “America’s last great soldier-statesman” before about 3,000 mourners who came together across party lines at Washington National Cathedral to remember the 41st president.
Ever the diplomat, the elder Bush managed in death to bring together the nation’s four living ex-presidents, as well as President Donald Trump, the Republican he and son George W. Bush refused to support two years ago. The gathering was at times awkward as Trump and his 2016 opponent, Hillary Clinton, ignored each other.
The most touching moment came when the younger Bush, delivering the last of four eulogies, choked up recalling “a great and noble man, and the best father a son or daughter could have.” As the late president’s three other sons and daughter looked on tearfully, the audience burst into applause for the only time during the ceremony.
As an intergenerational smattering of Republicans and Democrats, liberals and conservatives listened intently, one speaker after another recalled qualities arguably in short supply today: Integrity. Kindness. Dignity. Humor. Empathy. Loyalty. Generosity. Truth.
“When the history books are written,
“To us, his was the brightest of a thousand points of light.”
George W. Bush
they will say that George H.W. Bush was a great president of the United States, a diplomat of unmatched skill, a commander in chief of formidable accomplishment and a gentleman who executed the duties of his office with dignity and honor,” his son said.
“He showed me what it means to be a president who serves with integrity, leads with courage and acts with love in his heart for the citizens of our country.”
Bush biographer Jon Meacham told mourners, “George Herbert Walker Bush was America’s last great soldier-statesman, a 20th-century founding father. He governed with virtues that most closely resemble those of Washington and of Adams, of T.R. and of FDR, of Truman and of Eisenhower, of men who believed in causes larger than themselves.”
Meacham spoke about the courage Bush showed in World War II when, as a 20-year-old naval aviator, he parachuted from a burning plane over the Pacific Ocean. He alone lived to tell the tale; the rest of his crew perished.
“The rest of his life was a perennial effort to prove himself worthy of his salvation on that distant morning,” Meacham said. “To him, his life was no longer his own. There were always more missions to undertake, more lives to touch and more love to give.”
Those missions continued well into his senior years, the younger Bush recalled, including racing his speedboat, Fidelity, off the Maine coast at age 85 and parachuting out of a plane at 90.
Former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney recalled the integrity with which Bush led the nation through the fall of the Soviet Union and Berlin Wall and the Gulf War, when he assembled a coalition of 29 disparate nations against Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait.
“Let me tell you that when George Bush was president of the United States of America, every single head of government in the world knew they were dealing with a gentleman, a genuine leader, one who was distinguished, resolute and brave,” Mulroney said.
Former U.S. Sen. Alan Simpson of Wyoming, known for his sense of humor, recalled Bush’s love of family and friends, as well as his humility.
“Those who travel the high road of humility in Washington, D.C., are not bothered by heavy traffic,” Simpson deadpanned.
Several speakers singled out Bush’s belief in volunteerism and his phrase “a thousand points of light,” which he turned into a nonprofit group, the Points of Light Foundation. They noted his signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
For all the emotion, virtually every speaker touched on Bush’s good humor – even if, as Simpson said, he could never remember a punch line.
Meacham triggered laughter by repeating former “Saturday Night Live” comedian Dana Carvey’s secret to impersonating Bush – a mixture of “Mr. Rogers trying to be John Wayne.”
He recounted Bush’s relationship with his wife of 73 years, Barbara Bush, who died this year. To her husband, she was simply “Bar,” or “the silver fox,” or, at times, “the enforcer.”
Outside the cathedral, a crowd of several dozen gathered along the sidewalk across the street.
Some wore T-shirts or hats to honor the former president. Brooklyn-based artist Lucien Bourdeau brought a portrait he’d made of Bush to give to the family.
“It was very important for me to do because 41 was a good president. I loved his policy, especially his foreign policy. He was a good guy.”
Dan Riola, 40, drove down with his wife from New Jersey. “We came as the sun was just coming up,” he said.
After the service, the casket was flown to Houston, where Bush will lie in repose at St. Martin’s Episcopal Church. A funeral will be held there Thursday.
As a motorcade subsequently carried Bush’s remains to the church along a closed interstate, hundreds of people in stopped cars on the other side of the road took pictures and shot cell phone video.
Upon its arrival at the church, Bush’s casket was met by a military band and Houston Democratic Mayor Sylvester Turner.
Bush will be taken for burial Thursday at his family plot on the presidential library grounds at Texas A&M University in College Station.