AirWalter Loc: Tipp City, Ohio

GO NAVY !!!

Curtis_Lowe Loc: Georgia

You have obviously never heard the old adage "Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and to remove all doubt".

phlash46 Loc: Westchester County, New York

Damn, off your meds again?

EdJ0307 Loc: out west someplace

I understood that to be the case when I read your comment. Looks like others were confused.

NewGuy

I think the island was Chi Chi Jima near Iwo Jima.

lbrande

My father was in the Pacific theater with the Jungleers. He was in the 42 Cavalry Troop. Before he passed, he told me that one of the reasons that he never talked about the war was what he experienced. He did confirm that he came across remains that showed Japanese cannibalism. The remains were Americans or Allies.

Tomcat5133 Loc: Gladwyne PA

How did a celebration of this fine man turn into a strange scrap about being a hero and politics.
Unfortunately the story of flesh eating seems to be true and was not neccesary on the day of
remembering an American patriot.

Our current President said he didnt like hero's (John McCain) because he was captured.
I would take either of these gentlemen as President today right now!

rwoodvira

George H W Bush was probably one of the most qualified to ever be president - Congressman, Senator, Ambassador to the UN, Ambassador to China and then Vice President. On courage, I think we forget that the planes of that era were mechanically troublesome and that bombing crews had among the highest casualty rates of any of our services, not only from enemy contact but in just flying. I think it took real guts to even get in those planes and face death from Japanese fighters or flack. In addition, Japan was not a signatory to the Geneva convention and captured Allied servicemen knew that the Japanese treated those captured at best as slave labor. We are constantly reminded of the Holocaust and German atrocities during that war, but the atrocities of Japan like the Rape of Nanking and overall treatment of the conquered by Japan are largely forgotten. This is what Bush and those in aerial combat faced every day. I voted for George the 1st twice. Did he make mistakes; I don't know of anyone that hasn't. Calling Bush anything less than a hero is just wrong.

sbohne

Wow. Dumbass posts like this are allowed? No better than the poster who denigrated Bush. Look, if I wanted to read this bullshit, I would stay on Facebook. Can't we have ONE site where people keep their ignorant, racist political opinions to themselves?

I didn't think President Bush was a GREAT President. He voted against the voting right act (which he later regretted and made amends for), screwed up in Iraq by not finishing Hussain (a screw up by his own admission), he was dirty (involved with Iran Contra Scandal), and he screwed up the economy royally. But I never, not once, thought he was ever anything less than an American, a patriot, and a servant to his country. He was the last Conservative to give a damn about the middle class. And I always thought he would be a great guy to have a beer with. My flag will be at half-staff this week to honor this man of selfless duty...just as it was for John McCain.

Vince68 Loc: Wappingers Falls, NY

mleuck... Why couldn't you show some respect and just say RIP George HW Bush and leave it at that? What a piece of shit you are, and such a tirade coming from another veteran as you allude to being. Your right, you are definitely no hero.

We may never know exactly what happened to the other airmen that bailed that day, but according to the article and book, it does appear the atrocities of cannibalism may have occurred based on the limited data that was released due to the war trials after the war.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/02/06/george-hw-bushs-comrades-eaten-japanese-pow-guards/

hasslichhog

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________And, you are nowhere near competent to judge events that are true.

If you had been capable of burying your innate prejudices, a simple search of the Internet would have proved that ex-president George H. W. Bush was a WWII war hero.
https://search.yahoo.com/bin/search?p=George+H%2E+W%2E+Bush+WWII+navy+pilot

As a WWII, Occupation of Germany and Korea War vet, I remember all of the credible and believable news sources were rife with true stories about Bush's WWII exploits as a Navy fighter pilot

gerdog

The thing that I respected about him the most was when he kicked Iraq out of Kuwait WITHOUT miring us down in a long war. A lot of people around him were pressuring him to keep going and totally destroy the Iraqi army. However, President Bush knew what war was really like. How men and women and children all end up dead during battles. It's nothing to cheer about as if it's a football game. He also understood that Iraq served as a balance against Iran, and that it was best to just sit back and let them feud against each other without having to endanger America's military. Too bad others didn't understand that simple strategy. He was rich all his life, but still had compassion for less fortunate people, as did Mrs. Bush. I lean more towards the liberal side, but I recognize a good man when I see one, WHATEVER his political leanings may be. He was a good man, and a good American.

Floyd Loc: Misplaced Texan in Florence, Alabama

Two ends of of the continuum: George H.W.Bush, true documented by others a hero and John Kerry whose wound was so minor he should have stayed 'in country" yet came home claiming hero status for political reasons only to be exposed by his peers.

PH CIB

The United States Constitution names the President of the United States the commander in chief of the U.S. armed forces. Previous service in the military is not a prerequisite for the position of president. As of the 2016 presidential election, no member of the U.S. Marine Corps or U.S. Coast Guard has yet been elected President. The most frequent military experience is Army/Army Reserve with 15 presidents, followed by State Militias at 9, Navy/Naval Reserve at 6 and the Continental Army with 2 presidents serving.

Eight presidents served during World War II, while seven served in the military during the American Civil War.

The following list outlines the military service of each president before becoming the commander in chief.

See also: List of presidents of the United States by military rank
President Service Rank Active Service
Donald Trump None None None[1]
Barack Obama None None None[2]
George W. Bush Texas Air National Guard, United States Air Force First Lieutenant Stateside service as pilot during Vietnam War (1968–1973).[3] (See George W. Bush military service controversy)
Bill Clinton None None None[4]
George H. W. Bush United States Naval Reserve Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Naval aviator in World War II (1942–1945). Shot down and received the Distinguished Flying Cross.
Ronald Reagan United States Army Reserve, United States Army Air Forces Captain Stateside service during World War II (1942–1945); Army Reserve (1937–1942).
Jimmy Carter United States Navy Lieutenant (navy) Served during World War II as a midshipman at the United States Naval Academy. Sea duty and stateside service 1946–1953 during the Korean War.
Gerald Ford United States Naval Reserve Lieutenant Commander World War II (1942–1945); combat on USS Monterey, discharged in 1946.
Richard Nixon United States Naval Reserve Commander World War II (1942–1945); earned two battle stars for service in the Pacific.
Lyndon B. Johnson United States Naval Reserve Commander[5] World War II. Received Silver Star after observation mission in which aircraft he was on came under Japanese attack.[6] This was Johnson's only observation flight, and Johnson was the only individual on it to receive an award, leading many historians to conclude that Douglas MacArthur presented it to secure Johnson's political influence.[7]
John F. Kennedy United States Naval Reserve Lieutenant (navy) Served in combat during World War II. Received the Navy and Marine Corps Medal and the Purple Heart.
Dwight D. Eisenhower United States Army General of the Army Stateside service during World War I. Served as Supreme Allied Commander in Europe during World War II (1942–1945). Entire active-duty career spanned from 1915 until 1969 (excepting his two terms as president).
Harry S. Truman[8] Missouri Army National Guard,
United States Army,
United States Army Reserve Colonel Stateside National Guard service in Missouri (1905–1911); served in combat in France during World War I (1917–1918); transferred to Army Reserve and retired in 1953.
Franklin D. Roosevelt None None None; Assistant Secretary of the Navy during World War I.
Herbert Hoover None None

gerdog

Everyone who puts on a uniform is a hero in my book. They ALL put their lives on the line for our country.