The Day George H.W. Bush Narrowly Escaped Being Beheaded and Eaten

Like millions of other young Americans, George H.W. Bush knew he would fight in World War Two the moment he heard about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.  On the morning of his eighteenth birthday in June, 1942, he would greet the local Naval Recruiter at the door when he arrived to open.  The future President would join the ten month naval aviation training program.  He then named his airplane after his high school sweetheart, who he would wed in June, 1945 and is married to today. She likes to brag to her grandkids, “He was the first man I ever kissed.”  Her name would later become Barbara Bush, as it would remain for over seven decades.

George H.W. Bush would fly a total of 58 combat missions during World War Two, but September 2, 1944 would be the most difficult day of his life.  There were a total of…