WHEREAS, President George H.W. Bush, the 41st President ofthe United States 1989-1993, and the father of George W. Bush, 43rd President ofthe United States, and Jeb Bush, 43rd Governor of Florida has gone on to his eternal reward; and
WHEREAS, the Chicago City Council has been informed of his passing by Alderman Edward M. Burke; and
WHEREAS, President George H.W. Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts and was commissioned as an ensign in the Naval Reserve at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi on June 9, 1943, three days before his 19th birthday, making him one of the youngest aviators in the history ofthe Navy; and
WHEREAS, President George H.W. Bush received additional flight training at the Glenview Naval Air Station where he qualified to land torpedo bomber planes on aircraft carriers; and
WHEREAS, in September 1943, President George H.W. Bush was assigned to Torpedo Squadron 51 (VT-51) and participated in the Battle of the Philippine Sea; and
WHEREAS, promoted to Lieutenant (junior grade) on August 1, 1944, President George H.W. Bush completed fifty-eight combat missions and earned the Distinguished Flying Cross, three Air Medals, and'the Presidential Unit Citation for gallantry; and
WHEREAS, upon completion of his war-time service, President George H.W. Bush graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Yale University in 1948 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Economics; and
WHEREAS, President George H.W. Bush married Barbara Pierce in Rye, New York on January 6, 1945 and fathered six children; and
WHEREAS, after relocating his family to Texas to begin his business career in the oil industry, President George H.W. Bush entered politics in February 1963 and won election as chairman of the Harris County Republican Party; and
WHEREAS, in 1966, President George H.W. Bush won election to the House of Representatives froni the 7th District of Texas and was appointed to the House Ways and Means Committee where he stood in opposition to the draft and supported birth control; and
WHEREA...
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