Whereas President George Herbert Walker Bush’s lifetime record of service to the United States will continue to inspire Americans for years to come; Whereas, after the attack on Pearl Harbor, George H.W. Bush joined the United States Naval Reserve in 1942 on his 18th birthday and became a distinguished naval aviator; Whereas George H.W. Bush’s TBM Avenger aircraft was hit with enemy fire over Chi Chi Jima, and though the engine was ablaze, he completed his mission and escaped over water, and floated on a raft for 4 hours before being rescued; Whereas George H.W. Bush flew 58 combat missions during the Second World War, and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the United States Navy Air Medal with 2 gold stars; Whereas George H.W. Bush graduated from Yale University with a degree in economics, and moved his family to West Texas and embarked on a successful career in the energy industry; Whereas, in 1966, George H.W. Bush was elected to represent Texas in the House of Representatives; Whereas, from 1971 to 1973, George H.W. Bush served as the United States Ambassador to the United Nations; Whereas, from 1974 to 1975, George H.W. Bush served as the Chief of the United States Liaison Office to the People’s Republic of China; Whereas, from 1976 to 1977, George H.W. Bush served as the Director of Central Intelligence; Whereas, from 1981 to 1989, George H.W. Bush served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States; Whereas, from 1989 to 1993, George H.W. Bush served as the 41st President of the United States; Whereas President George H.W. Bush provided the steady leadership needed through the fall of the Berlin Wall, the reunification of Germany, the peaceful end of the Cold War, and the collapse of the Soviet Union; Whereas President George H.W. Bush led a coalition of 32 nations to restore Kuwait’s sovereignty following its invasion by Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein; Whereas President George H.W. Bush is noted for the advancement of civil rights with the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act