Remembering George H.W. Bush

Updated 5:22 a.m. ET, December 2, 2018
15 Posts
Sort byDropdown arrow
7:40 p.m. ET, December 1, 2018

Bob Dole on H.W. Bush's death: It's the end of an era

From CNN's Sophie Tatum

Former Sen. Bob Dole reflected on his decades-old friendship with the late former President, saying that his passing was an end of an era, as President George H.W. Bush was the last World War II veteran president.

"I believe there are certain qualities that veterans have and when Bush was president, I think about three-fourths of Congress were veterans and we would stick together and work together across the aisle. And President Bush was a bipartisan president. So we got quite a lot done," Dole sold CNN's Ana Cabrera on Saturday nightaid on CNN.

5:21 p.m. ET, December 1, 2018

A granddaughter's heartfelt Instagram post

President George H.W. Bush's granddaughter Lauren posted this photo and a heartfelt message about her late grandfather on Instagram Saturday:

4:33 p.m. ET, December 1, 2018

Trump says Air Force One will transport Bush's body to Washington, DC

From CNN’s Jeremy Diamond

President Donald Trump said Air Force One -- the same modified 747 he is using in Buenos Aires to attend the G20 summit -- will fly to Houston, to pick up the casket carrying the body of former President George H.W. Bush and transport him to Washington.

"Air Force One will be taking myself and a lot of our people back to Washington. It will then be reset and it will be sent to Houston to pick up the casket of President Bush and then be put back to Washington," Trump said.

Trump called it a "special tribute that he deserves."

"It's my honor," Trump said. 

7:22 p.m. ET, December 1, 2018

Bush to be memorialized in DC and Houston

By Joe Ruiz

Here's what we know about the funeral arrangements for the 41st president.

Bush will first will have an arrival ceremony at Joint Base Andrews on Monday at 3:30 p.m. ET, followed by another arrival ceremony at 4:45 p.m., ET, at the US Capitol, where he will then lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda until Wednesday morning. Members of the public can pay their respects beginning at 7:30 p.m., ET, on Monday evening, until 8:45 a.m., ET, on Wednesday, Dec. 5.

Stock markets will also be closed Wednesday to honor the late President.

Bush will then be transported to the National Cathedral in northwest Washington, DC, where a memorial service will begin at 11 a.m., ET. The image you see above is the invitation to the memorial service.

Following the service, Bush will be transported to Houston, where a second memorial service is scheduled to take place on Thursday.

He will lie in repose at St. Martin's Episcopal Church from 7:45 p.m., ET, Wednesday, until 7 a.m., ET, on Thursday. The second funeral service will begin at 11 a.m., ET.

Following that service, he will be taken via motorcade to the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, where he will be laid to rest alongside his wife, Barbara, who passed away earlier this year, and their daughter, Robin, who died from leukemia as a child.

3:11 p.m. ET, December 1, 2018

These were George H.W. Bush's last words

In his last hours, George H.W. Bush talked to his son, former President George W. Bush, on the phone.

The son told Bush Sr. that he had been a "wonderful father," a source familiar with his last moments told CNN's Jamie Gangel.

Bush 41 replied,

I love you, too.

The New York Times first reported the conversation.

Bush Sr. was also asked yesterday whether he wanted to go to the hospital, a source said.

He said no, the source said. He was ready to go and be with his wife Barbara and his daughter Robin, who died of leukemia as a child.

3:14 p.m. ET, December 1, 2018

Bush to lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda

By Joe Ruiz

The 41st President of the United States will return to the US Capitol one more time.

George H.W. Bush will lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda next week, an honor reserved for fewer than a few dozen people over nearly 200 years.

A bipartisan group of congressional leaders made the announcement Saturday afternoon that Bush would arrive at the Capitol at 5 p.m. ET on Monday, Dec. 3. The public will be allowed to pay their respects beginning that day at 7:30 p.m. ET until 7 a.m. ET on Wednesday, Dec. 5.

CNN's Lauren Fox wrote about the tradition earlier this year after the passing of Arizona Sen. John McCain.

Lying in state, according to the Architect of the Capitol, is an honor reserved for "government officials and military officers" and involves laying the casket of the deceased in the Rotunda of the US Capitol, where the public can come and offer final respects.
...
Prominent private citizens can also be laid in the Rotunda, but they are lain in honor, not in state, as was the case with minister Billy Graham earlier this year.
2:01 p.m. ET, December 1, 2018

Queen Elizabeth calls Bush a 'great friend and ally' of the UK

Queen Elizabeth II paid tribute to former President George H. W. Bush in a statement mentioning his military service during World War II and his alliance with the United Kingdom.

“It was with sadness that I learned of the death of President George H W Bush last night. President Bush was a great friend and ally of the United Kingdom. He was also a patriot, serving his country with honour and distinction in Office and during the Second World War. Prince Philip and I remember our days in Texas in 1991 with great fondness. My thoughts and prayers are with President Bush’s family and the American people.”
1:59 p.m. ET, December 1, 2018

Secret Service: 'Timberwolf' will be sorely missed

By Joe Ruiz

The Secret Service offered their condolences in a tweet on Saturday, and included President George H.W. Bush's Secret Service code name: Timberwolf.

For 38 years, the U.S. Secret Service protected George H.W. Bush. Following his death late Friday, the agency charged with keeping him safe offered their condolences and shared a video compiled of photos of the 41st president's life, as well as a clip of Bush giving his inaugural address on Jan. 20, 1999.

"I do not mistrust the future; I do not fear what is ahead. For our problems are large, but our heart is larger."

1:00 p.m. ET, December 1, 2018

'In a different world': Historian shares photo of Bush, Reagan and Gorbachev in New York

By Veronica Stracqualursi

Presidential historian Michael Beschloss shared a photo on Twitter showing former President Ronald Reagan, Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, and then-President elect and Vice President George H.W. Bush together in 1988.

The photo was from a meeting the three held on Governors Island, New York, on December 7, 1988.

What's also striking about the photograph is the landmark Twin Towers that made up the World Trade Center can be seen in the backdrop.