Bush Visits USS George H.W. Bush

Aircraft Carrier Named After Father Commissioned In Norfolk, Va. Ceremony

(AP)  President George W. Bush landed Saturday on the USS George H.W. Bush, a new aircraft carrier named after his father - the ultimate honor for a decorated Navy pilot from World War II.

"So what do you give a guy who has been blessed and has just about everything he has ever needed?" the president asked the estimated 20,000 gathered for the commissioning at Naval Station Norfolk. "Well, an aircraft carrier."

The steel-gray vessel is more than three football fields long, one in the Nimitz class of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers that are the largest warships on the world. Its price tag is just as hefty: $6.2 billion.

"Laura and I are thrilled to be here to help commission an awesome ship and to honor an awesome man," Mr. Bush said.

The elder Bush, 84, told the ship's crew, his voice quavering at times with emotion, that they will form "an unbroken line of patriots protecting this special piece of American territory."

"As someone who has stood that watch and remembers the quiet solitude of that experience, I know you will find comfort and inspiration," he said, "particularly in the night sky, where it is basking in the splendor of the night stars that you will truly understand the majesty of creation and bear witness to the certain hand of God."

Doro Bush Koch, the president's sister and ship's sponsor, had the honor of bringing the carrier to life. With the words, "Man our ship. Bring her to life," hundreds of sailors charged up gangplanks as a band played "Anchors Aweigh," the song of the Navy.

Four F-18s flew overhead, followed by a solo World War II torpedo bomber similar to the one the elder Bush flew during the war.

The mood was celebratory aboard the ship, spit and polished for its unveiling. The Marine One presidential helicopter ferried the president, his father and their wives to its deck. It was sunny, but a chilly breeze greeted the president, his father and their wives got off the helicopter with their wives.

George H.W. Bush, sporting a purple scarf inside his overcoat, walked with a cane to a golf cart. He got in the back seat with former first lady Barbara Bush; the president grinned and waved as he took the driver's seat with his wife by his side.

Left: President George W. Bush with his father, former President George H. W. Bush on the deck of the newly-comissioned USS George H.W. Bush aircraft carrier.

Unexpectedly to onlookers, the entire section of the deck - actually an elevator - dropped slowly to the floor below. They drove to the ceremony site that overlooked thousands of guests attending the ceremony on the carrier, decorated in red-white-and-blue bunting.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates, one of the first speakers, said there is no one more worthy than the former president to have the last ship of the Nimitz class to bear his name - "the last of the World War II generation to serve as commander in chief."

The president's daughters, Jenna Hager and Barbara Bush, and Vice President Dick Cheney and his wife, Lynne, were among the estimated 20,000 people who attended the event. Also on hand were Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine.

The Nimitz class of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers was first launched in 1972. The USS George H.W. Bush is the 10th and final vessel of its type.

A bronze statue on the hangar bay deck of the 1,092-foot warship depicts the former president as a youthful, smiling pilot in his flight suit. On an upper deck, a "tribute room" presents Mr. Bush's life from his days in the Navy to his four years in the White House.

Mr. Bush joined the Navy on June 12, 1942, his 18th birthday and six months after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. During the war he flew torpedo bombers off the converted aircraft carrier USS San Jacinto. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and three Air Medals for his service.

On a mission over the Pacific in September 1944, Mr. Bush's plane crashed into the ocean after being hit by Japanese anti-aircraft fire. The future president parachuted into the sea and was rescued by a Navy submarine. He returned to combat and served until the end of the war.

No other former president has visited a carrier named after him. Ronald Reagan was the first living ex-president to have a carrier named in his honor, but Reagan was unable to visit the vessel before he died.

[Alex_Figueras]

Hi. I'm Alex Figueras, a Spanish (Catalonya) boy. I live in Tarragona. I want to say that I visited Rota, which is a Spanish-american bases in sud Spanish. I bouth something, I payed in ?, but my change was in $. I liked it very much.

[mytoosense]

Regardless of the name of the ship, it is going to be manned by 5500 men and women of the United States Navy. Why don*t you people show the crew some respect? A name, any name, is what you make of it.

Signed, a retired Carrier Sailor, 21 years worth.
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Posted by dome200q

I think HW deserves the honor, He flew off a carrier in WWII with distinction, he started and finished a war in a week in the Persian Gulf. And he was not a total failure as a President.

His son on the other hand...

Dubya%u2019s name does not belong on any ship that is capable of floating.

[biblethumpar]

The USS HWBush Titanic..

[messiahx4eve]

I would like to see Nike or any shoe manufacturer come up with a shoe designed and named after bush; bushwack tracks, airbush, gymchimps, dubya d''s, flat fleets, airshrub, laura loafers, cheney ball&chains, Zippy the pinhead hightops, Bomb Iraq jet pumps, Cocaine Cruisers, Wiskey walkers, and last but not least, Legacy Cheaters, cheaply made with recycled milk jugs and water bottles, cost a fortune, AND come with a genuine autographed card of a member of the bush regime, collect all 50 cards and keep your own little legacy history to yourself, LOLOLOL

[Krazcarl]

a family history of sorriness leaving thecountry a worse place than when they started they get a aircraft carrier named after them I got afine andthreats of confinment. Let''s not be poor sports ...VOTE JEB BUSH FOR PRESIDENT heck we''ll need more killing boats and THE MOROONS ARE LINING UP !!

[messiahx4eve]

My daughter works on that ship and she said, hand to God, that within minutes of bush stepping his foot on that ship that things started going wrong: electrical systems in areas that were fine started shutting down in the holds, one turbine actually just stopped for no reason, and various other "minor" things started happening, after ole dubya left with the family, EVERYTHING started working just fine....kind of spooky, eh?

Regardless of the name of the ship, it is going to be manned by 5500 men and women of the United States Navy. Why don*t you people show the crew some respect? A name, any name, is what you make of it.

Signed, a retired Carrier Sailor, 21 years worth.

[ubrew12]

America''s Defense Department soaks up $600 billion a year in tax dollars, twice what it did when Bush came to office 8 years ago. Most of that money buys hardware that ends up rotting in an Arizona Desert, or scuttled off the California Coast. Its welfare for cold warriors, and this bankrupt nation can''t afford it anymore.

And we sit here arguing about whether we can ''afford'' alternative energy, mass transit, and improved health care, while billions are wasted every year protecting us from ''the terrorists''. The last time the terrorists attacked us, they armed up at Home Depot.

[pirmin3]

Too bad it didn''t go down with them on board.

[excoachken]

We all get to see what $$$$ put into the "right hands" can get you.

[jungleplant]

what a couple of war mongers, they both should have to be tried before the publick for what they have done to the world

[tincup356]

As the commander who steered America right after the attack on Sept.11 ,2001 and who got us thru 8 years safe from the murderous muslim fanatics , as well as one who got for future Americans a fantastic missle defense system ( one the Dems said would not work but has proven to knock off missles after missles and makes the Russians envy us)and also among other great acchievements , a peaceful and democratic Irag being one of them , I BELIEVE PRES. GEORGE W. BUSH deserves NO LESS than having the first of the next generation of Aircraft carrier PLUS one AirPort named after him . Also , we should name our missle defense system the George W. Bush missle defense system. For all you Obama Kool-Aid drinking crowd , let''''s hope that "the ONE" is up to the task of keeping us safe from the muslim fanatics for a start!

Posted by alohaone1 at 04:59 AM : Jan 11, 2009.................................................................Somehow I think it is YOU that has gotten into the koolaid.....911 was a hoax that bush was behind and the total destruction of our economy was escalated by the lie wars Bush waltzed into....coupled with everyone in Washington and Wall st. off on a massive greed trip to rob the nation..........wake up we have been attacked by our own government and people are to naive to admit it happened.....Bush deserves to be tried for war crimes and then face treason charges right along with both parties of both houses of Congress.

[tincup356]

We need to quit building warships....we want peace,,,,,,we want to eliminate corruption in government,,,,,but people just can''t shake all the party line brainwashing they have been given,,,,,,,Seems as though the defense contractors are not going to go broke,,,,,,war death and destruction are best sellers when it comes to popular government activities around the world.It would be amazing how much progress could be made if the people of the world had as much say in how it is ....as the defense contractors,politicians, and war mongers.........who are busy selling death for profit.

[oreobama]

Great - Bush #43 visits the Christening of this Carrier - Everything that Bush 43 touches Fails - so will this Carrier.
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Posted by whatawebb

Here is another dufus wishing failure for the seamen and officer that work on the USS George H.W. Bush. What a pathetic group of people live in this country - I really wish tey would bring the Draft back and make everyone serve. Then party politics may not be so important anymore.
whatawebb - you are a pathetic soul.

[whatawebb]

Great - Bush #43 visits the Christening of this Carrier - Everything that Bush 43 touches Fails - so will this Carrier.

[alohaone1]

the Bushes is certainly the greatest political dynasty in American History . I like JFK , but let''s be fair here , the Kennedy beside JFK and Robert is but a joke , filled with arrogant criminals with one of them being locked up for murder . All families black sheeps and the Kennedy has its fair share of misfortune as well as its contributions to the country , but the most influential living Kennedy , Ted , certainly has his stains from the Car accident in which he was drunk and a young lady died . He was lucky he got off that hook . So , the second best modern political family in America does not even compare to the Bush . Now , the next that can come close is the Clinton , with Hillary ready to knock Obama off in 2012 and Chelsea being the next generation. But After Hillary will be Jeb Bush for Pres. so ,it is far from over , folks!

[alohaone1]

As the commander who steered America right after the attack on Sept.11 ,2001 and who got us thru 8 years safe from the murderous muslim fanatics , as well as one who got for future Americans a fantastic missle defense system ( one the Dems said would not work but has proven to knock off missles after missles and makes the Russians envy us)and also among other great acchievements , a peaceful and democratic Irag being one of them , I BELIEVE PRES. GEORGE W. BUSH deserves NO LESS than having the first of the next generation of Aircraft carrier PLUS one AirPort named after him . Also , we should name our missle defense system the George W. Bush missle defense system. For all you Obama Kool-Aid drinking crowd , let''s hope that "the ONE" is up to the task of keeping us safe from the muslim fanatics for a start!

[ubrew12]

When does Bush Jr get his garbage scow?

[claydowner]

The important message is that this is the LAST of the Nimitz class nuclear carriers. While these ships carrying a lot of fire power they are increasingly vulnerable to new high tech anti-ship missiles. Also the day of the carrier pilot is coming to an end. In the future nearly every military aircraft will be an unmanned robot drone. You get lots of advantages including increased flying time, same payload, and no need to rescue the pilot in hostile areas when you robotize the aircraft platform. UAV''s and robot fighter planes are the only way to go because you can get more weapons platforms for the money. You can turn as many G''s as the aircraft can take vice what the pilot can take before he blacks out. This is an important consideration when under hostile missile attack. Navy ships need to be smaller with more emphasis put on stealth and small radar signature. The Swedish Visby class corvette is a perfect example. This is critical for littoral operations and special operations warfare exactly the kinds of missions likely for the 21st century. This carrier is a Cold War relic built as corporate welfare.

There needs to be less costly and smaller carriers that are stealthy, highly automated, smaller crews but built in quantity. These stealthy jeep carriers need to have lots of robot fighter planes, escort vessels, and submarines with lots of Tomahawk cruise missiles to take out enemy targets with precision munitions.

[flsunjnky]

HillGirl, you still out there?