[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 42, Number 41 (Monday, October 16, 2006)]
[Pages 1766-1767]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at a Christening Ceremony for the USS George H.W. Bush in 
Newport News, Virginia

October 7, 2006

    Mr. Secretary, thank you very much. Laura and I are honored to be 
here to honor our dad. We appreciate you coming. Mother, it's good to 
see you. Members of the Bush family, all of you, distinguished Members 
of Congress, Governor, ex-Governors, the men and women of the United 
States Navy, military veterans, the workers who helped build this great 
ship--I join you; I know you join me in saying to our father: President 
Bush, your ship has come in. [Laughter]
    In a few minutes, my sister Dorothy will christen the newest and 
most advanced aircraft carrier in the Navy--the George H.W. Bush. For 
the pilots of the World War II generation who are with us today, this 
carrier may seem a little more inviting than the ones you landed on. As 
you can see, our Navy has made a few upgrades. The George H.W. Bush is 
the latest in the Nimitz line of aircraft carriers. She is unrelenting; 
she is unshakable; she is unyielding; she is unstoppable. As a matter of 
fact, probably should have been named the ``Barbara Bush.'' [Laughter]
    In accord with a long and honored tradition, we gather to christen 
this fine ship. We recall the service and sacrifice of earlier 
generations. And we pay tribute to a new generation of sailors and 
marines who have stepped forward to serve in freedom's cause.
    The George H.W. Bush is named for a man who exemplifies the great 
character of our country. On the day Pearl Harbor was attacked, George 
H.W. Bush was a teenager--he was a high school senior. Six months later, 
he was sworn into the Navy. A year later, he received his wings at a 
ceremony in Corpus Christi, Texas. Here is what he said. He said, ``I 
had an ensign's stripe and an admiral's confidence.'' [Laughter] ``I was 
a Navy pilot.''
    Our dad would become known as one of the Navy's youngest pilots, but 
that wasn't his only distinction. While training along the Chesapeake 
Bay, the pilots in our dad's flight class learned about a beach across 
the way where young ladies liked to sunbathe. It became popular for the 
pilots to fly low over the beach. So one day he came in low to take a 
look. It just so happened to be the same day that a traveling circus had 
set up its tents. Dad's flyover upset an elephant, causing him to break 
loose and make a run throughout the town. He was called in for a 
reprimand from his commander. He puts it this way: ``I was grounded for 
causing an elephant stampede''--probably the only Navy pilot in American 
history who can make that claim.
    After training, he was assigned to a light carrier. He took part in 
the Great Turkey Shoot of the Marianas. He knew the horror of kamikaze 
attacks. He would complete 58 combat missions. These were tough days, 
but he had something that kept him going. And if you look closely at the 
photographs of the planes he flew, you will find what kept him going in 
the name he had painted under his cockpit: Barbara.
    One of Dad's most important missions was a strike on a radio tower 
on an island called Chichi Jima. The Japanese were using that tower to 
intercept U.S. military radio transmissions and alert the enemy about 
impending American air strikes. On September 2, 1944, his squadron was 
given a simple assignment: to take it out. The pilots knew they would 
face heavy enemy fire because the Japanese had fortified the island. But 
Dad and his fellow pilots did their duty without complaint or 
hesitation. During that raid, his plane was hit by antiaircraft 
artillery, and it caught on fire. Yet, he kept his plane on course. He 
released his four bombs and scored four direct hits on that tower; he 
headed out to sea; he ejected.
    Japanese boats were sent out to capture him. And after more than 2 
harrowing hours at sea alone in a rubber life raft, he was rescued by 
the crew of the USS Finback. For his action, he earned the Distinguished 
Flying Cross. Yet it is characteristic that from those moments aboard 
his life raft to this ceremony today, Dad's thoughts have always been of 
the two fine members of his crew who did not make it home: Radioman 
Second

[[Page 1767]]

Class John Delaney and Lieutenant JG Ted White. On that day over Chichi 
Jima, a young American became a war hero and learned an old lesson: With 
the defense of freedom comes loss and sacrifice.
    The George H.W. Bush honors a generation that valued service above 
self. Like so many who served in World War II, duty came naturally to 
our father. In the 4 years of that war, 16 million Americans would put 
on the uniform, and the human costs were appalling. From the beaches of 
Normandy to the jungles of Southeast Asia, more than 400,000 Americans 
would give their lives.
    From the beginning of that war, there were those who argued that 
freedom had seen its day and that the future belonged to the hard men in 
Tokyo and Berlin. Yet the war machines of Imperial Japan and Nazi 
Germany would be brought down by American GIs who only months before had 
been students and farmers and bank clerks and factory hands. The 
generation of World War II taught the world's tyrants a telling lesson: 
There is no power like the power of freedom and no soldier as strong as 
a soldier who fights for a free future for his children.
    The George H.W. Bush will serve--as a new generation of Americans 
every bit as brave and selfless as those who have come before them. The 
21st century--in the 21st century, freedom is again under attack, and 
young Americans are volunteering to answer the call. In the years since 
September the 11th, 2001, more than 1.6 million Americans have 
volunteered to wear the uniform of the United States. Today, they serve 
in distant lands and on far seas--from the islands of Southeast Asia to 
the Horn of Africa to the mountains of Afghanistan and in Iraq. And once 
again, with perseverance and courage and confidence in the power of 
freedom, a new generation of Americans will leave a more hopeful and 
peaceful world for generations to come.
    The men and women of the United States military represent the best 
of America, and they deserve the best America can give them. And the 
George H.W. Bush is the best America can give them.
    During his time in the South Pacific, Ensign Bush served on a light 
carrier called the USS San Jacinto. That ship was named for the 1836 
Battle of San Jacinto. And in that battle, the free Texas forces led by 
Sam Houston defeated a Mexican army that was much larger in size--and 
Sam Houston succeeded in capturing the Mexican general responsible for 
the slaughter of the Alamo just a few weeks before. Yet on the eve of 
the battle, the outcome was far from certain, and the Mexicans seemed to 
hold the advantage. So Sam Houston called his Texans together, and he 
reminded them what they were fighting for. He told them: ``Be men--be 
free men--that your children may bless their father's name.''
    On this proud day, the children of George H.W. Bush bless their 
father's name; the United States Navy honors his name; and the ship that 
bears his name sails into this young century as a symbol of American 
strength and freedom. May God watch over all those who sail this ship, 
all those who fly from her deck, and all those at home who pray for 
their safe return.
    It is my honor to bring to you the 41st President, a great dad, 
George H.W. Bush.

Note: The President spoke at 10:55 a.m. at the Northrop Grumman Newport 
News Shipyard. In his remarks, he referred to Gov. Timothy M. Kaine of 
Virginia.