Houston
Houston is the most populous city in the U. S. state of Texas and the fourth most populous city in the United States, with a census-estimated population of 2.312 million in 2017. It is the most populous city in the Southern United States and on the Gulf Coast of the United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the seat of Harris County and the principal city of the Greater Houston metropolitan area, the fifth most populous metropolitan statistical area in the United States and the second most populous in Texas after the Dallas-Fort Worth MSA. With a total area of 627 square miles, Houston is the eighth most expansive city in the United States, it is the largest city in the United States by total area, whose government is not consolidated with that of a county or borough. Though in Harris County, small portions of the city extend into Fort Bend and Montgomery counties. Houston was founded by land speculators on August 30, 1836, at the confluence of Buffalo Bayou and White Oak Bayou and incorporated as a city on June 5, 1837.
The city is named after former General Sam Houston, president of the Republic of Texas and had won Texas' independence from Mexico at the Battle of San Jacinto 25 miles east of Allen's Landing. After serving as the capital of the Texas Republic in the late 1830s, Houston grew into a regional trading center for the remainder of the 19th century; the arrival of the 20th century saw a convergence of economic factors which fueled rapid growth in Houston, including a burgeoning port and railroad industry, the decline of Galveston as Texas' primary port following a devastating 1900 hurricane, the subsequent construction of the Houston Ship Channel, the Texas oil boom. In the mid-20th century, Houston's economy diversified as it became home to the Texas Medical Center—the world's largest concentration of healthcare and research institutions—and NASA's Johnson Space Center, where the Mission Control Center is located. Houston's economy has a broad industrial base in energy, manufacturing and transportation.
Leading in healthcare sectors and building oilfield equipment, Houston has the second most Fortune 500 headquarters of any U. S. municipality within its city limits. The Port of Houston ranks first in the United States in international waterborne tonnage handled and second in total cargo tonnage handled. Nicknamed the "Space City", Houston is a global city, with strengths in culture and research; the city has a population from various ethnic and religious backgrounds and a large and growing international community. Houston is the most diverse metropolitan area in Texas and has been described as the most racially and ethnically diverse major metropolis in the U. S, it is home to many cultural institutions and exhibits, which attract more than 7 million visitors a year to the Museum District. Houston has an active visual and performing arts scene in the Theater District and offers year-round resident companies in all major performing arts; the Allen brothers—Augustus Chapman and John Kirby—explored town sites on Buffalo Bayou and Galveston Bay.
According to historian David McComb, "he brothers, on August 26, 1836, bought from Elizabeth E. Parrott, wife of T. F. L. Parrott and widow of John Austin, the south half of the lower league granted to her by her late husband, they paid $5,000 total, but only $1,000 of this in cash. They lobbied the Republic of Texas Congress to designate Houston as the temporary capital, agreeing to provide the new government with a capital building. About a dozen persons resided in the town at the beginning of 1837, but that number grew to about 1,500 by the time the Texas Congress convened in Houston for the first time that May. Houston was granted incorporation with James S. Holman becoming its first mayor. In the same year, Houston became the county seat of Harrisburg County. In 1839, the Republic of Texas relocated its capital to Austin; the town suffered another setback that year when a yellow fever epidemic claimed about one life out of every eight residents. Yet it persisted as a commercial center, forming a symbiosis with Galveston.
Landlocked farmers brought their produce to Houston, using Buffalo Bayou to gain access to Galveston and the Gulf of Mexico. Houston merchants profited from selling staples to farmers and shipping the farmers' produce to Galveston; the great majority of slaves in Texas came with their owners from the older slave states. Sizable numbers, came through the domestic slave trade. New Orleans was the center of this trade in the Deep South. Thousands of enslaved blacks lived near the city before the American Civil War. Many of them near the city worked on sugar and cotton plantations, while most of those in the city limits had domestic and artisan jobs. In 1840, the community established a chamber of commerce in part to promote shipping and navigation at the newly created port on Buffalo Bayou. By 1860, Houston had emerged as a commercial and railroad hub for the export of cotton. Railroad spurs from the Texas inland converged in Houston, where they met rail lines to the ports of Galveston and Beaumont.
During the American Civil War, Houston served as a headquarters for General John Magruder, who used the city as an organization point for the Battle of Galveston. After the Civil War, Houston businessmen initia
Spring, Texas
Spring is a census-designated place within the extraterritorial jurisdiction of Houston in Harris County, United States, part of the Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land metropolitan area. The population was 54,298 at the 2010 census. While the name "Spring" is popularly applied to a large area of northern Harris County and a smaller area of southern Montgomery County, the original town of Spring, now known as Old Town Spring, is located at the intersection of Spring-Cypress and Hardy roads and encompasses a small area of 1 km2; the large geographic area now known as Spring was inhabited by the Orcoquiza Native Americans. In 1836, the Texas General Council of the Provisional Government placed what is now the town of Spring in the Harrisburg municipality. In 1838, William Pierpont placed a trading post on Spring Creek. In 1840, the town of Spring had 153 residents. By the mid-1840s, many German immigrants, including Gus Bayer and Carl Wunsche, moved to the area and began farming. People from Louisiana and other parts of the post-Civil War Southern U.
S. settled in Spring. The main cash crops in Spring were sugar cotton. In 1871, the International and Great Northern Railroad, built through Spring, which caused Spring to expand. In 1873, Spring received a post office. By 1884, Spring had 150 residents, two steam saw and grist mills, two cotton gins, three churches, several schools. In 1901 -- 1903, the International-Great Northern Railroad opened. Spring, now with a roundhouse, became a switchyard with fourteen trackyards; the population increased to 1,200 by 1910. The Spring State Bank opened in 1912. In 1923, the roundhouse relocated to Houston; the bank was robbed several times in the 1930s. The bank consolidated with Tomball Bank in 1935. By 1947, Spring had 700 residents. In the 1970s, Houston's suburbs began to expand to the north, more subdivisions and residential areas opened in the Spring area; some older houses in the town of Spring received housed shops. The Old Town Spring Association opened in 1980 to promote the Old Town Spring shopping area, which consists of the restored houses.
In 1984 and 1989, the Spring area had 15,000 residents. By 1989, Old Town Spring became a tourist area. In 1990, the Spring area had 33,111 residents. From 1969 to 1992, the Goodyear airship America was based in Spring from its large hangar visible just off Interstate 45. Takeoffs and landings were a major attraction and motorists continually pulled off to the interstate's shoulders to watch. In 1992 the America was moved to Akron and the massive hangar was torn down. In 2016, the hangar's concrete foundation was still visible at the intersection of Holzwarth Road and Meadow Edge Lane west of Lowe's Home Improvement Center; the 1992 Log Cabin Republicans convention was held in Spring. Spring is located at 30°3′15″N 95°23′13″W. According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 23.6 square miles, of which 23.2 square miles is land and 0.35 square miles, or 1.51%, is water. The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Spring has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.
As of the census of 2010, there were 54,298 people, 18,050 households, 14,068 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 2,300.8 people per square mile. There were 19,191 housing units at an average density of 813.2 per square mile. The racial makeup of the CDP was 63.8% White, 19.5% African American, 0.6% Native American, 3.1% Asian, 0.4% Pacific Islander, 9.3% from other races, 3.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 28.4% of the population. As of the census of 2000, there were 36,385 people, 12,302 households, 9,829 families residing in the CDP; the population density was 1,520.0 people per square mile. There were 12,714 housing units at an average density of 531.1 per square mile. The racial makeup of the CDP was 83.01% White, 6.99% African American, 0.51% Native American, 1.42% Asian, 0.13% Pacific Islander, 5.62% from other races, 2.31% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 16.06% of the population. There were 12,302 households out of which 46.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.9% were married couples living together, 12.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 20.1% were non-families.
15.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 2.8% had someone living alone, 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.96 and the average family size was 3.30. In the CDP, the population was spread out with 31.0% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 33.8% from 25 to 44, 22.0% from 45 to 64, 4.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.4 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $56,662, the median income for a family was $60,934. Males had a median income of $42,134 versus $30,270 for females; the per capita income for the CDP was $21,027. About 3.1% of families and 4.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.7% of those under age 18 and 4.5% of those age 65 or over. The Spring Fire Department serves areas within the Spring CDP and some areas outside the CDP with Spring addresses; the fire department is headquartered at 656 E. Louetta, in the middle of the CDP.
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Financial crisis of 2007–2008
The financial crisis of 2007–2008 known as the global financial crisis and the 2008 financial crisis, is considered by many economists to have been the most serious financial crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s. It began in 2007 with a crisis in the subprime mortgage market in the United States, developed into a full-blown international banking crisis with the collapse of the investment bank Lehman Brothers on September 15, 2008. Excessive risk-taking by banks such as Lehman Brothers helped to magnify the financial impact globally. Massive bail-outs of financial institutions and other palliative monetary and fiscal policies were employed to prevent a possible collapse of the world financial system; the crisis was nonetheless followed by the Great Recession. The European debt crisis, a crisis in the banking system of the European countries using the euro, followed later. In 2010, the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act was enacted in the US following the crisis to "promote the financial stability of the United States".
The Basel III capital and liquidity standards were adopted by countries around the world. Following is a timeline of major events during the financial crisis: February 20, 2007: The Dow Jones Industrial Average hit its peak level of 12,786. Existing home sales peaked this month and began to decline. April 2007: New Century, an American REIT specializing in sub-prime mortgages, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection; this propagated the sub-prime crisis, to banks around the world. August 9, 2007: BNP Paribas, a French investment bank, blocked withdrawals from two of its hedge funds – a clear sign that banks were refusing to do business with each other. August 2007: The Federal Open Market Committee began reducing the federal funds rate from its peak of 5.25% in response to worries about liquidity and confidence. December 12, 2007: The Federal Reserve instituted the Term Auction Facility to supply short-term credit to banks with sub-prime mortgages. February 13, 2008: The Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 was enacted, which included a tax rebate.
March 17, 2008: The Federal Reserve guaranteed Bear Stearns' bad loans to facilitate its acquisition by JPMorgan Chase. July 11, 2008: IndyMac failed. July 30, 2008: The Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 was enacted. September 7, 2008: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were taken over by the federal government. September 15, 2008: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt after the Federal Reserve declined to guarantee its loans, causing the Dow Jones to drop 504 points, its worst decline in seven years; the same day, Bank of America purchased Merrill Lynch. September 16, 2008: The Federal Reserve took over American International Group; the Reserve Primary Fund "broke the buck" as a result of massive withdrawals from money market accounts. September 21, 2008: Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley converted themselves from investment banks to bank holding companies to increase their protection by the Federal Reserve. September 26, 2008: Washington Mutual went bankrupt after a bank run. September 29, 2008: The House of Representatives rejected the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 instituting the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program.
In response the Dow Jones dropped its largest single-day decline. October 3, 2008: Congress passed the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. November 25, 2008: The Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility was announced. December 16, 2008: The federal funds rate was lowered to zero percent. January 2009: The Big Three automobile manufacturers received a bailout from the TARP program. February 13, 2009: Congress approved the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, a $787 billion economic stimulus package. March 6, 2009: The Dow Jones hit its lowest level of 6,443.27. The precipitating factor for the Financial Crisis of 2007–2008 was a high default rate in the United States subprime home mortgage sector – the bursting of the "subprime bubble." While the causes of the bubble are disputed, some or all of the following factors must have contributed. Low interest rates encouraged mortgage lending. Securitization. Many mortgages were bundled together and formed into new financial instruments called mortgage-backed securities, in a process known as securitization.
These bundles could be sold as low-risk securities because they were backed by credit default swaps insurance. Because mortgage lenders could pass these mortgages on in this way, they could and did adopt loose underwriting criteria. Lax regulation allowed predatory lending in the private sector after the federal government overrode anti-predatory state laws in 2004; the Community Reinvestment Act, a 1977 US federal law designed to help low- and moderate-income Americans get mortgage loans encouraged banks to grant mortgages to higher risk families. Reckless lending by, for example, Bank of America's Countrywide Financial unit, caused Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to lose market share and to respond by lowering their own standards. Mortgage guarantees. Many of the subprime loans were bundled and sold accruing to the quasi-government agencies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac; the implicit guarantee by the US federal government created a moral hazard and contributed to a glut of risky lending. The accumulation and subsequent high default rate of these subprime mortgages led to the financial crisis and the consequent damage to the world economy.
High mortgage approval rates led to a large pool of homebuyers. This appreciation in value led large numbers of homeowners to borrow against their homes as an apparent windfall; this "bubble" would be burst by a r
EMD SD70 series
The EMD SD70 is a series of diesel-electric locomotives produced by Electro-Motive Diesel in response to the GE Dash 9-44CW. Production commenced in late 1992 and since over 5,700 units have been produced. All locomotives of this series are road switchers with C-C trucks, while the SD70ACe-P4 has a B1-1B wheel configuration. Prior to the SD70ACe and SD70M-2 models, all SD70 models were delivered with the self-steering HTCR radial truck; the radial truck railhead. With the introduction of the SD70ACe and SD70M-2 models, EMD introduced a new bolsterless non-radial HTSC truck as the standard truck for these models in an effort to reduce costs; the HTCR-4 radial truck is still an option. All SD70ACe and SD70M-2 locomotives are, from the factory, equipped with one Nathan Airchime K5LLA-R1L airhorn mounted on a high-profile base. Due to height clearance restrictions, production models of the SD70ACe-T4 will be equipped with one K5LLA airhorn, mounted on a low-profile base, facing forward, one "dual tone" K-13B airhorn, mounted over the rear headlight, facing rearward.
The SD70 uses the smaller standard cab or spartan cab, common on older 60 Series locomotives, instead of the larger, more modern comfort cab. This makes it hard to distinguish from the nearly-identical SD60, the only difference being the use of the HTCR radial truck instead of the HT-C truck mounted under the SD60; the main spotting feature is the difference in length between the two models - the SD60's 71 feet, 2 inches vs. the SD70's 72 feet, 4 inches. The SD70 rides higher as its frame is 1⁄2 inch higher than the SD60's; this model is equipped with direct current traction motors, which simplifies the locomotive's electrical system by obviating the need for computer-controlled inverters. It is equipped with the 4,000 horsepower, 16-cylinder EMD 710 prime mover. One hundred and twenty-two examples of this model locomotive were produced for Norfolk Southern Railway, Illinois Central Railroad and Southern Peru Copper Corporation. Conrail's assets were split between Norfolk Southern and CSX Transportation in 1999, all 24 of Conrail's SD70 units went to NS.
Other than the CR paint scheme these units were built to NS specifications and numbered in series with their SD70's. Production of the standard cab at EMD's London, Ontario plant ended in 1994; the 24 Conrail SD70s were assembled from kits at Conrail's Juniata Shops in Altoona and the IC and SPCC SD70s were assembled from kits at Super Steel Schenectady. All SD70s are still in service with Norfolk Southern and Canadian National, which merged Illinois Central in 1999. In February 2017, NS began a program to convert their SD70s from DC to AC, which will have a new wide cab, several other upgrades, they will be designated as SD70ACC. The SD70M has a wide nose and a large comfort cab, allowing crew members to ride more comfortably inside of the locomotive than the older standard cab designs. There are two versions of this cab on SD70Ms: the Phase 1 cab, first introduced on the SD60M, is standard on the SD80MAC and SD90MACs, the Phase 2 cab, a boxier design similar to the original three-piece windscreen on the SD60M, shared with the Phase 2 SD90MAC, SD89MAC, SD80ACe.
The Phase 2 cab has a two-piece windscreen like the Phase 1 windscreen but the design of the nose is more boxy, with a taller square midsection for more headroom. The SD70M is equipped with the 710G3B prime mover, they are capable of generating 109,000 lbf of continuous tractive effort. From mid-2000, the SD70M was produced with SD45-style flared radiators allowing for the larger radiator cores needed for split-cooling. Split-cooling is a feature that separates the coolant circuit for the prime mover and the circuit for the air pumps and turbocharger. There are two versions of this radiator: the older version has two large radiator panels on each side, the newer version has four square panels on each side; this modification was made in response to the enactment of the United States Environmental Protection Agency's Tier 1 environmental regulations. The truck was replaced with HTCR-4, instead of HTCR-I on former model. Production of the SD70M ceased in late 2004. 1,609 examples of the SD70M model were produced.
Purchasers included CSXT, New York Susquehanna & Western, Norfolk Southern and Southern Pacific, but the vast majority were purchased by Union Pacific. An order of SD70Ms made history; this order was extended by nearly 500 additional units and. This locomotive model is built for export, is still catalogued by EMD. CVG Ferrominera Orinoco has 6 SD70Ms that were built as an add-on order to UPs FIRE cab equipped SD70Ms. Companhia Vale do Rio Doce in Brazil has ordered 55 of this model for service in Carajas pulling trainloads of iron ore. Since CVRD track is gauged at 1,600 mm, a wider bogie, the HTSC2, was designed for these units by EMD; the SD70I is a version of the SD70M, fitted with a cab, isolated from the frame of the locomotive with rubber gaskets. The isolation reduces noise and vibration from the prime mover
President of the United States
The president of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces. In contemporary times, the president is looked upon as one of the world's most powerful political figures as the leader of the only remaining global superpower; the role includes responsibility for the world's most expensive military, which has the second largest nuclear arsenal. The president leads the nation with the largest economy by nominal GDP; the president possesses international hard and soft power. Article II of the Constitution establishes the executive branch of the federal government, it vests the executive power of the United States in the president. The power includes the execution and enforcement of federal law, alongside the responsibility of appointing federal executive, diplomatic and judicial officers, concluding treaties with foreign powers with the advice and consent of the Senate.
The president is further empowered to grant federal pardons and reprieves, to convene and adjourn either or both houses of Congress under extraordinary circumstances. The president directs the foreign and domestic policies of the United States, takes an active role in promoting his policy priorities to members of Congress. In addition, as part of the system of checks and balances, Article I, Section 7 of the Constitution gives the president the power to sign or veto federal legislation; the power of the presidency has grown since its formation, as has the power of the federal government as a whole. Through the Electoral College, registered voters indirectly elect the president and vice president to a four-year term; this is the only federal election in the United States, not decided by popular vote. Nine vice presidents became president by virtue of a president's intra-term resignation. Article II, Section 1, Clause 5 sets three qualifications for holding the presidency: natural-born U. S. citizenship.
The Twenty-second Amendment precludes any person from being elected president to a third term. In all, 44 individuals have served 45 presidencies spanning 57 full four-year terms. Grover Cleveland served two non-consecutive terms, so he is counted twice, as both the 22nd and 24th president. Donald Trump of New York is the current president of the United States, he assumed office on January 20, 2017. In July 1776, during the American Revolutionary War, the Thirteen Colonies, acting jointly through the Second Continental Congress, declared themselves to be 13 independent sovereign states, no longer under British rule. Recognizing the necessity of coordinating their efforts against the British, the Continental Congress began the process of drafting a constitution that would bind the states together. There were long debates on a number of issues, including representation and voting, the exact powers to be given the central government. Congress finished work on the Articles of Confederation to establish a perpetual union between the states in November 1777 and sent it to the states for ratification.
Under the Articles, which took effect on March 1, 1781, the Congress of the Confederation was a central political authority without any legislative power. It could make its own resolutions and regulations, but not any laws, could not impose any taxes or enforce local commercial regulations upon its citizens; this institutional design reflected how Americans believed the deposed British system of Crown and Parliament ought to have functioned with respect to the royal dominion: a superintending body for matters that concerned the entire empire. The states were out from under any monarchy and assigned some royal prerogatives to Congress; the members of Congress elected a President of the United States in Congress Assembled to preside over its deliberation as a neutral discussion moderator. Unrelated to and quite dissimilar from the office of President of the United States, it was a ceremonial position without much influence. In 1783, the Treaty of Paris secured independence for each of the former colonies.
With peace at hand, the states each turned toward their own internal affairs. By 1786, Americans found their continental borders besieged and weak and their respective economies in crises as neighboring states agitated trade rivalries with one another, they witnessed their hard currency pouring into foreign markets to pay for imports, their Mediterranean commerce preyed upon by North African pirates, their foreign-financed Revolutionary War debts unpaid and accruing interest. Civil and political unrest loomed. Following the successful resolution of commercial and fishing disputes between Virginia and Maryland at the Mount Vernon Conference in 1785, Virginia called for a trade conference between all the states, set for September 1786 in Annapolis, with an aim toward resolving further-reaching interstate commercial antagonisms; when the convention failed for lack of attendance due to suspicions among most of the other states, Alexander Hamilton led the Annapolis delegates in a call for a convention to offer revisions to the Articles, to be held the next spring in Philadelphia.
Prospects for the next convention appeared bleak until James Madison and Edmund Randolph succeeded in securing George Washington's attendance to Philadelphia as a delegate for Virginia. When the Constitutional Convention convened in May 1787, the 12 state delegations in attendance (Rh
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush was an American politician who served as the 41st president of the United States from 1989 to 1993 and the 43rd vice president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. A member of the Republican Party, he held posts that included those of congressman, CIA director; until his son George W. Bush became the 43rd president in 2001, he was known as George Bush. Bush postponed his university studies after the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, enlisted in the Navy on his 18th birthday, became one of its youngest aviators, he served until September 1945, attended Yale University, graduating in 1948. He moved his family to West Texas where he entered the oil business and became a millionaire by the age of 40 in 1964. After founding his own oil company, Bush was defeated in his first run for the United States Senate in 1964, but won election to the House of Representatives from Texas's 7th congressional district in 1966, he was reelected in 1968 but was defeated for election to the Senate in 1970.
In 1971, President Richard Nixon appointed Bush as Ambassador to the United Nations, he became Chairman of the Republican National Committee in 1973. The following year, President Gerald Ford appointed him Chief of the Liaison Office in China and made him the director of Central Intelligence. Bush ran for president in 1980, was defeated in the Republican primary by Ronald Reagan, as Reagan's running mate Bush became vice-president after the ticket's election. During his eight-year tenure as vice president, Bush headed task forces on deregulation and the war on drugs. Bush in 1988 defeated Democratic opponent Michael Dukakis, becoming the first incumbent vice president to be elected president in 152 years. Foreign policy drove the Bush presidency. Bush signed the North American Free Trade Agreement, which created a trade bloc consisting of the United States and Mexico. Domestically, Bush signed a bill to increase taxes, he lost the 1992 presidential election to Democrat Bill Clinton following an economic recession and the decreased importance of foreign policy in a post–Cold War political climate.
After leaving office in 1993, Bush was active in humanitarian activities alongside Clinton, his former opponent. With George W. Bush's victory in the 2000 presidential election and his son became the second father–son pair to serve as President, following John Adams and John Quincy Adams. At the time of his death, he was the longest-lived president in U. S. history, a record surpassed by Jimmy Carter on March 22, 2019. George Herbert Walker Bush was born at 173 Adams Street in Milton, Massachusetts on June 12, 1924 to Prescott Sheldon Bush and Dorothy Bush; the Bush family moved from Milton to Connecticut shortly after his birth. Bush was named after his maternal grandfather George Herbert Walker, known as "Pop", young Bush was called "Poppy" as a tribute to his namesake. Bush began his formal education at the Greenwich Country Day School attended Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts beginning in 1938, where he held a number of leadership positions which included president of the senior class, secretary of the student council, president of the community fund-raising group, a member of the editorial board of the school newspaper, captain of the varsity baseball and soccer teams.
Six months after the United States entered World War II following Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, Bush enlisted in the U. S. Navy after he graduated from Phillips Academy on his 18th birthday, he became a naval aviator. After completing the 10-month course, he was commissioned as an ensign in the Naval Reserve at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi on June 9, 1943, just three days before his 19th birthday, which made him one of the youngest aviators in the Navy. In September 1943, he was assigned to Torpedo Squadron 51 as the photographic officer; the following year, his squadron was based in USS San Jacinto as a member of Air Group 51, where his lanky physique earned him the nickname "Skin". During this time, the task force was victorious at the Battle of the Philippine Sea, one of the largest air battles of World War II. Bush was promoted to lieutenant on August 1, 1944, San Jacinto commenced operations against the Japanese in the Bonin Islands, he piloted one of the four Grumman TBM Avengers of VT-51 that attacked the Japanese installations on Chichijima on September 2, 1944.
His crew included Lt. William White, his aircraft was hit by flak during the attack, but Bush released bombs and scored several hits. With his engine ablaze, he flew several miles from the island, where he and one other crew member bailed out. Bush spent four hours in his inflated liferaft, protected by fighter aircraft circling above, until the submarine USS Finback came to his rescue, he participated in the rescue of other aviators. Several of those shot down during the attack were executed, their livers were eaten by their captors; this experience shaped Bush profoundly, leading him to ask, "Why had I been spared and what did God have for me?"In November 1944, Bush returned to San Jacinto and participated in operations in the Philippines until his squadron was replaced and sent home to the United States. By 1944 he had flown 58 combat missions for which he received the Distinguished Flying Cross, three Air Medals, the Presiden
Death and state funeral of George H. W. Bush
On November 30, 2018, George H. W. Bush, the 41st President of the United States, died at his home in Houston, Texas. Bush was the first former U. S. president to die since Gerald Ford in 2006. At the age of 94 years and 171 days, Bush was the longest-lived U. S. president in history until March 22, 2019, when his record was surpassed by Jimmy Carter. Shortly after news broke of Bush's death, President Donald Trump declared a national day of mourning and ordered all flags "throughout the United States and its Territories and possessions" lowered to half staff for 30 days after his death; the state funeral of George H. W. Bush was the official funerary rites conducted by the Government of the United States which occurred over a period of four days from December 3 to 6, 2018. Former President George H. W. Bush had struggled with health issues for several years leading up to his death. In 2012, he was diagnosed with vascular Parkinsonism, necessitating the use of a mobility scooter and limiting his speech.
He was hospitalized numerous times in serious condition, most notably missing the inauguration of Donald Trump due to being in the intensive care unit at Houston Methodist Hospital. Following the death of his wife Barbara in April 2018, Bush continued to deal with a variety of health issues, he was hospitalized a day after her funeral in critical condition with a blood infection, but he was stabilized and released. In May, a month before his 94th birthday, he was admitted to a hospital in Maine due to low blood pressure. Released after about two weeks, he returned to Houston. In late November, Bush's health began to decline again, he received former President Barack Obama at his home for what was described as a "private visit" on November 27. By November 28, he had stopped eating and did not leave his bed, telling his medical staff he did not want to return to the hospital. James Baker, former Secretary of State and a longtime friend of Bush, reported that Bush's condition had improved by the morning of November 30, as he had began eating again and was able to sit up from his bed and converse with others.
According to Baker, Bush's last meal consisted of three soft-boiled eggs, a cup of yogurt, two fruit drinks. By night on November 30, his health again worsened and death was imminent. Irish tenor Ronan Tynan came and sang two songs for Bush, as his family and friends gathered at the household to say their goodbyes. Bush's last words were "I love you too", spoken to his son, former President George W. Bush, over a speaker phone. Shortly after that conversation, at 10:10 p.m. Central Standard Time, Bush died at the age of 94, with Baker describing his death as "peaceful" and adding "If those things could be sweet, it was sweet". Within hours of his death, the former president's office issued a statement indicating that funeral arrangements would be announced "as soon as practical"; the exact cause of death was not announced. At 12:49 a.m. Eastern Standard Time on December 1, President Donald Trump tweeted that he and Melania Trump's "hearts ache with his loss and we, with the entire American people, send our prayers to the entire Bush family".
Former President Barack Obama said in a statement that "George H. W. Bush's life is a testament to the notion that public service is a noble, joyous calling, and he did tremendous good along the journey." Former President Bill Clinton sent a statement that "Hillary and I mourn the passing of President George H. W. Bush, give thanks for his great long life of service and friendship. I will be forever grateful for the friendship we formed. From the moment I met him as a young governor invited to his home in Kennebunkport, I was struck by the kindness he showed to Chelsea, by his innate genuine decency, by his devotion to Barbara, his children, their growing brood." Former President Jimmy Carter mourned his death on Saturday, saying his administration was "marked by grace and social conscience." Former Vice President Dan Quayle said that "the world mourns the loss of a great American" and that he had told his children to look to Bush as a role model. Former Vice President Al Gore issued a statement calling Bush a "man of integrity".
Sylvester Turner, the mayor of Houston – where Bush resided at the time of his death – said that he joined "Houstonians in mourning the death of George Herbert Walker Bush and expressing heartfelt condolences to his children and the rest of the Bush family". International statements include: Afghanistan: Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah Algeria: President Abdelaziz Bouteflika Australia: Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
