My second full day in Houston arrived with continued rain, but fortunately the temperatures rose to the upper 30s, which meant that I wouldn’t face any icy road conditions on the 90-mile trip north to College Station, home of the George H. W. Bush Presidential Center. Located on a 90-acre site on the West Campus of Texas A&M University, it’s one of the top attractions in the state. A beautiful fountain adorns the outside of this presidential complex and a striking rotunda greets visitors inside the main entrance. It seemed that hardly anyone else was around during the morning of my visit in early February. This gave me an opportunity to chat with one of the volunteers about her responsibilities and learning how much she enjoyed working at this presidential center administered by the National Archives and Records Administration. I explained that the previous day’s bad weather forced me to postpone my trip north from Houston. She replied, “It’s a good thing you didn’t drive up yesterday. We were closed, because when the schools close, we close.”
The first exhibit in the museum’s Ansary Gallery of American History was a temporary one and was devoted to Nelson Mandela. I was surprised at this, as I couldn’t make out the connection to our forty-first president. Nevertheless, the exhibition traced the story of one of the world’s most famous freedom fighters and political leaders. Nelson Mandela’s story was detailed in several galleries, beginning with his rural childhood home through his years of turbulent struggle against South Africa’s apartheid regime, to his eventual vindication and later years as South Africa’s first democratically elected president. It was easy to understand why he’s still such an important figure, thanks to his fight for racial equality, his uncanny ability to forgive, and his tireless work to unify South Africa. Although the 27 years he spent in prison and the resulting loss of his family and his liberty would affect him deeply, his courage and strength against adversity served him well and are as important today as they were during his lifetime. President Bush said, “It took genuine leadership for the political leaders in South Africa to compromise and show restraint. No one better embodied this spirit than Nelson Mandela.”
Symbols of the Presidency greeted me when exiting the rotating exhibit. There are many icons associated with the nation’s highest office and several were assembled here, including a presidential limousine, as well as a three-foot crystal Presidential Seal hung between a portrait of George Bush painted by Ron Sherr and a portrait of Barbara Bush painted by Chas Fagan. Family Traditions was next and this gallery was devoted to the early years of the former president. It told the story of George Bush's childhood in Greenwich, Connecticut, and his strong ties to family and included 28 personal, framed family photos artfully arranged on a standing, five-shelf wooden cabinet. The exhibit also covered the childhood and family history of the woman who would one day be the First Lady of the United States and the mother of a future president, Barbara Pierce Bush. We then learned about the family summer retreat at Walker’s Point in Kennebunkport, Maine, that’s been in the Bush family for generations beginning in the late Nineteenth Century. But soon, George Bush's idyllic life would change dramatically after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
The World War II gallery was titled Duty, Honor, Country. At the outbreak of the war, Bush was a student at Phillips Academy, but upon his graduation, he enlisted in the US Navy on his 18th birthday in 1942. After flight training, he went on to become one of the youngest aviators in the service, Bush was assigned to Torpedo Squadron (VT-51) on the USS San Jacinto in the Pacific. On September 2, 1944 he was piloting an aircraft attacking the Japanese installation on Chi Chi Jima when his Grumman TBM Avenger Torpedo Bomber was hit and his engine caught fire. He was still able to release his payload and head back towards his carrier before bailing out over the water. After floating on a raft for four hours, a submarine crew fished a safe but exhausted Bush out of the ocean. His bravery in action earned the future president the Distinguished Flying Cross. Over the course of 1944, while his squadron suffered a 300 percent casualty rate, Bush won three Air Medals as well as a Presidential Unit Citation. In total, he flew 58 combat missions during the conflict.
George Bush and Barbara Pierce were married on January 6, 1945 and the Family Traditions exhibit included both a replica of Barbara’s wedding gown as well as the broach she wore on her wedding day. After his discharge, George entered Yale University. He was a baseball star at Yale and in 1948 was the team’s captain. As such, he shared a moment with baseball great Babe Ruth on June 5 of that year for an on-field ceremony during which Ruth presented Bush with the manuscript for The Babe Ruth Story as a donation to the Yale Library. Earning his degree in economics in just two and a half years via an accelerated program, the Bush family made their way to West Texas in a 1947 Studebaker, identical to the museum’s replica. In Midland, the young couple built a family which eventually consisted of four sons, George W., John (Jeb), Marvin and Neil as well as two daughters, Dorothy and Robin. Unfortunately, Robin died of leukemia just shy of her fourth birthday. Despite the tragedy which affected him deeply, George found success in the oil business along with the creation of the Zapata Offshore Company. The business ushered in a new era in the oil drilling industry and vintage video included in this area shows the launching of the then revolutionary new drilling technology unveiled by Zapata.
With his family growing and after finding success in business, Bush embarked upon a career in politics which would later define his as a life of service. The Political Itch gallery illustrated how it all began. Here, I came upon a 30-foot tall replica of the US Capitol Dome beneath which were many pictures, articles and political advertisements from George's first successful campaign. He won election to the US House of Representatives representing the 7th Congressional District of Texas in 1966 and again in 1968. President Nixon appointed Bush as permanent Ambassador to the US Mission to the United Nations in 1971, a position he held for two years before Nixon requested that he chair the Republican National Committee in 1973. When Gerald Ford became president, Bush was appointed to lead the US Liaison Office in the People’s Republic of China in 1974. He served for just over a year, assuming his final appointed position in 1975 when he became Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. When the Carter Administration took office in 1977, he returned to the private sector, serving as Chairman of the Executive Committee for Houston’s First National Bank. But not for long.
In just a few short years, George Herbert Walker Bush was on his way to securing his place in American history. I’ll tell you all about that in a future post.
Until next time…safe travels.
A fascinating history of the soon to be President. I will look forward to the next episode...