George H.W. Bush -- a distinguished public servant, and a loyal friend

Gaylien was there that day, too. He had been invited to the fundraiser by an old war buddy who had left a comped ticket with his name on it.

I noticed him as he came out of the hotel, this dark-skinned elderly man in a simple suit. I approached him and asked if he had been at the fundraiser. He smiled and said yes. I asked how he had found himself there, and he explained that former President Bush was his friend and that, in fact, the two had been friends for more than a half-century.

I had to hear more. So I invited the man to lunch. There, he told me his story.

Gaylien was in Bush's life, and vice versa, because the Phoenix native was also present that fateful day during World War II.

Like Bush, Gaylien served aboard the USS San Jacinto from 1943 to 1944. And like Bush, Gaylien flew bombing missions as part of the VT-51 torpedo squadron. Bush was a pilot; Gaylien was a radio man and gunner who received the Distinguished Flying Cross.

When Bush was shot down, Gaylien was one of the radio operators who called in a submarine rescue. The two had been friends ever since. After World War II ended, Bush came home and started his climb. Gaylien came home and confronted a familiar mountain.

"Here we were, coming back from the war, and we were still discriminated against,'' Gaylien told me with tears in his eyes.

He and other Latino veterans set out to change that, and they did.

For Latinos, that's our version of the Greatest Generation -- defeating evil in Asia and Europe, then doing the same here at home.

Bush never forgot about Gaylien. Over the years, he invited his old friend to special events like the 1988 presidential inauguration and reunions of the VT-51.

It's a great story. To back it all up, Gaylien brought to our lunch a scrapbook full of photos. I'll never forget the one of a couple of baby-faced Navy flyers, grinning aboard an aircraft carrier in the Pacific with no clue about what the future held for either of them.

It has been noted that George H.W. Bush cherished his friends. You had better believe it.

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Ruben Navarrette's email address is ruben@rubennavarrette.com. His daily podcast, "Navarrette Nation," is available through every podcast app.