Synopsis

Born on June 12, 1924, in Milton, Massachusetts, George H.W. Bush fought in WWII and was
elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. He was Ronald Reagan's VP for two terms and
then won the 1988 presidential race, losing his bid for a second term to Bill Clinton. He has since
made appearances for George W. Bush, his oldest son, and started the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund
with President Clinton.

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Early Life

George Herbert Walker Bush was born on June 12, 1924, in Milton, Massachusetts. The son of
Senator Prescott Bush, he was born into a wealthy and politically active family. Bush attended
Phillips Academy, an elite boarding school in Andover, Massachusetts. He began dating his
future wife, known as Barbara Pierce at the time, after they were introduced at a Christmas dance
in 1941. Bush was 17 years old at the time, and Barbara was just 16. (They married in January
1945.)

On his 18th birthday, Bush enlisted in the U.S. Navy, becoming the youngest pilot in the Navy
during World War II. He served as a combat pilot in the war, flying carrier-based torpedo bomber
aircraft and a total of 58 combat missions. He had a brush with death when his plane was hit
during a bombing run in the Pacific. After managing to escape the burning aircraft, he was
quickly rescued by a U.S. Navy submarine. Bush was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross
for his WWII service.

After the war, Bush attended Yale University, where he graduated with a degree in economics in
1948. He later moved to Midland, Texas, where he found success in the oil and petroleum
industry.

Congressman and Vice President

Bush became chairman of the Harris County Republican Party in 1963. The following year, he
ran an unsuccessful campaign for a U.S. Senate seat in Texas. It didn't take long for Bush to enter
Congress, however; in 1966, two years after his unsuccessful Senate bid, he was elected to the
U.S. House of Representatives, ultimately serving two terms. Bush was later appointed to several
important positions, including U.S. ambassador to the United Nations in 1971, head of the
Republican National Committee during the Watergate scandal, U.S. envoy to China, and director
of the Central Intelligence Agency in 1976.

Bush then set his sights on the U.S. presidency, but failed to win his party's nomination in 1980,
losing it to his opponent, Ronald Reagan. Bush would make it to the White House soon after,
however: He was chosen as Reagan's vice-presidential running mate. Reagan won the 1980
election, defeating Democrat challenger Jimmy Carter. He was re-elected in 1984, with Bush
serving as his vice president for both terms.