TEXAS TITANS
George H.W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush was born on June 12, 1924, in Milton, Massachusetts, to his father, a prominent Wall Street banker and future United States senator, Prescott Sheldon Bush, and his mother, Dorothy Walker Bush. The second son of Prescott Bush, he was named after his maternal grandfather who was known as “Pop,” which resulted in George Bush being called “Poppy,” a tribute to his namesake.
The Bush family moved to Greenwich, Connecticut, in 1925, where young Bush attended the prestigious Greenwich Country Day School, followed by Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts. Tall, handsome, outgoing, well-liked, and an excellent athlete, Bush served as president of his senior class, as well as captain of the varsity baseball and soccer teams. Bush’s devotion to his alma mater was evident throughout the decades, visiting the school often, even serving on the Board of Trustees for sixteen years, while sending three sons to Andover — George W. in 1964, Jeb in 1971, and Marvin in 1975.
Bush’s last visit to Andover was on September 30, 2015, when he made a surprise appearance. Though a bit frail at ninety-one years old, the former president was energized by the standing ovation from the students and faculty that filled Cochran Chapel. Bush said...
“Thank you for that warm Andover welcome back to the school that has meant so much to me in my life,”
Reflecting on that special day after sharing a private lunch with students, he said...
"It always gives me great joy to return to Andover...The lessons learned and the relationships forged here have meant so much throughout my full and adventurous life, and I could wish nothing more for every student who is so blessed to walk on this campus.”
Naval Aviator
Following the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, Bush decided to forgo college — temporarily — to enlist in the United States Navy. Shortly thereafter, Bush headed to flight-training school, earning a commission as a naval pilot assigned to the aircraft carrier USS San Jacinto (CVL-30). He flew his first combat mission in May 1944 and was soon promoted to lieutenant on August 1, 1944. Flying a Grumman TBF Avenger, a torpedo bomber, Bush saw the horrors of war firsthand.
Just one month later, in September, as part of a combat mission against the Japanese on the island of Chichi Jima, Bush’s plane was hit and seriously damaged. Though his plane was on fire, Bush courageously completed the mission, but he and the crew were forced to bail out. His crewmembers did not survive, but Bush was rescued when the USS Finback, a Gato-class submarine, miraculously appeared. Bush stayed with the crew of the Finback, helping rescue more Navy pilots who’d been shot down, but others were not so fortunate. Many of them were captured by enemy forces and executed, some even barbarically eaten by their captors.
While still enlisted in the Navy, Bush met Barbara Pierce during the Christmas holidays of 1941, and they wed on January 6, 1945, in Rye, New York. Together, they had six children: George Walker, Robin (who was born in 1949 and died in 1953 of leukemia), John Ellis “Jeb,” Neil, Marvin, and Dorothy “Doro.” Bush’s eldest son, George W., followed his father into the world of politics, first serving as governor of Texas and ultimately as the 43rd president of the United States, with son Jeb serving two terms as governor of Florida.
Following the Japanese surrender, Bush was honorably discharged in September 1945, allowing him to enroll in Yale, where he graduated in 1948 as part of an accelerated academic program. Much like at Andover, Bush was active in all parts of school life at Yale, serving as captain of the baseball team, while also being selected to join the secret society known as Skull & Bones. While at Yale, Bush’s baseball team played in the first two College World Series, with Bush even meeting Babe Ruth before a game during his senior year.
Learn more about the Incredible Life of George Herbert Walker Bush in Texas Titans.
George Heads West
With a Yale degree now added to his impressive list of credentials at such a young age, Bush didn’t choose the path of least resistance. Bush wrote:
“I am not sure I want to capitalize completely on the benefits I received at birth — that is on the benefit of my social position.”
The restless, anxious Bush wanted something more in life, perhaps adventure, so why not Texas? Bush said...
I have this chance to go...to Texas. Texas would be new and exciting for a while — hard on Bar perhaps — and heavens knows many girls would bitch like blazes about such a proposed move — Bar’s different though. She is wholly unselfish, beautifully tolerant of my weaknesses and idiosyncrasies, and ready to faithfully follow any course I choose.”
Texas was indeed new to Bush. A fascinating place to be, especially when he saw what he remembers as his first real, powerful West Texas sandstorm. He also marveled at the first time he saw golfers using a small jeep-like vehicle and holding umbrellas up because, as Bush tells it,
But Texas was no laughing matter. It was about hard work, finding a new way of life, being on his own, and making new friends thousands of miles away from the comfort of his family. In the early period of his new career, Bush found his employment merely satisfactory, admitting that much of what he initially did required little brain power. He was eager to get out to the oil fields, and also eager to read anything he could about the booming West Texas oil industry. Bush was steadily progressing, and with Barbara by his side — along with the ever-rambunctious George W. — he was becoming a fast learner in the oil industry. From helping change clutches and brakes on a rig to pitching a bed on the front seat of a car for hours, Bush was getting his hands dirty, indeed, often working seven days a week, but never complaining.
In 1953, Bush co-founded Zapata Petroleum Corporation, an oil company that drilled in the Permian Basin in Texas. The following year, Bush was named president of Zapata Offshore Company, a subsidiary that focused primarily on offshore drilling.
In 1959, Zapata was split into two companies, and though Bush loved his life in Midland, he acknowledged years later...
“Midland is nowhere near the Gulf of Mexico, where all our drilling rigs were operating. So, a very pregnant Barbara, myself, and four boys packed up and moved to Houston.”
“It was so damned hot that they really couldn’t have made it around without this car. We [he and Barbara] both laughed over the looks of the damn thing but had to secretly admit the ingenuity of the gents.”
Politics Comes Calling
Bush’s next few years were hectic, indeed, settling into a new town, while also managing the many challenges of his new business. That’s when it began...What he called the political itch...
“I decided to start small — very small — by running for chairman of the Harris County Republican Party.”
Small but victorious. Bush won in February 1963, writing that his “opponent withdrew before the election, so I recorded an overwhelming victory at the polls.” With a paid staff and 270 precincts in the county, Bush found his job consuming, though incredibly worthwhile. He made it clear in his diary that one of his goals as Harris County GOP chairman was to reach out to minority voters, believing strongly that the Republican Party should “make room for every American.”
“He [Bush] ran for county chairman, started right where he — I guess you should start, right at the bottom, and worked his way up to president of the United States. He was Harris County chairman of the Republican Party. In those days, it was a hanging offense to be a Republican in Texas. I’m not kidding you!” Baker Said
Bush set his sights much higher the following year, running for the United States Senate in 1964 against Liberal Texas senator Ralph Yarborough, a contest he ultimately lost.
Learn more about the Amazing Life of George H.W. Bush in Texas Titans.