George H.W. Bush -- a distinguished public servant, and a loyal friend
SAN DIEGO -- I never had the honor of meeting George H.W. Bush, but I was lucky enough to meet one of his oldest and dearest friends.
That man's name was Don Gaylien.
Bush was a businessman, congressman, CIA director, U.S. ambassador to China, vice president, and the 41st president of the United States. When I met Gaylien, he was a 75-year-old Mexican-American retired postal worker in Phoenix living on a pension and Social Security.
Bush grew up in Connecticut as the son of a U.S. senator and attended the prestigious Phillips Academy. Gaylien started high school in bare feet, because his family couldn't afford shoes. He remembered that movie theaters in Phoenix had signs in the front window that read: "Absolutely no Mexicans or Negroes."
We already know part of the story. Bush enlisted and became one of the youngest bomber pilots in the Navy. He was assigned to the USS San Jacinto, and completed about 50 successful bombing missions before he was shot down over the Pacific Ocean in September 1944. He parachuted into the water, and he made his way to a life raft. He drifted for hours, and he wasn't sure if he'd survive. Indeed, his two crew members did not.
At this point in his life, Bush was just 20.
Fast forward 55 years. It's April 1999, and I'm a metro columnist working at the Arizona Republic in Phoenix. In the world of politics, two things seemed certain at the time: Texas Gov. George W. Bush was going to run for the Republican nomination for president the following year; and Arizona Sen. John McCain was going to be running right alongside him.
My editor sent me to follow up on a rumor that George Bush had quietly crept into town, into McCain territory, for a high-priced fundraiser at a swanky hotel. I got to the hotel and tried to enter the building for a closer look. But I was turned away by Secret Service agents.
Secret Service? For the governor of Texas?
George Bush was in town alright -- but it was George H.W. Bush. A proud father, and former president, had come to the desert to raise money for his son's upcoming presidential bid.
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