12/1/2018 5:14 AM

   It is my habit to write contemporaneous comments mainly for myself when someone who has influenced my life passes.  The seeds were planted for this many years ago when the death of a comrade was quickly pushed into the back of memory bank.  There will be time later to reflect on those times.  I found over the years that you can keep pushing those memories to the back of your mind, but eventually they rear their head with a vengeance fermented from the lack of attention.  That is when I decided to put my thoughts in writing while the event was still a contemporary event without the benefit of hindsight and retrospective memories.  In that frame of mind I try and extract some personal meaning from the news of someone passing. While I may not have always known them personally, if they do hold a place in my life's memories, there is a lesson to be learned.

   It has been said that we don't have funerals for the dead, we have them for the remaining.  A funeral holds a unique position in every society.  It is the final intersection between past and present for many of the mourners.  Each society and individual deals with the reality in varying ways.

   There will be tributes and remembrances for George Herbert Walker Bush the 41^st President of the United States who passed on November 30, 2018 at 94 years old. His life and time are well documented and do not bear repeating here.

   As is my standard practice, I often try to reflect on the deceased and how they influenced my life.  Regardless of ones position on policies and strategies there can be no doubt that George H. W. Bush was  a man of honor and integrity for most of his public and private life which extended well beyond him leaving the state of the public arena. His time in the Presidency was indeed a time of many tumultuous events.

• The fall of the Berlin Wall
• The Dissolution of the Soviet Union,
• The invasion and liberation of Kuwait
• The Removal of Manuel Noriega from office after he annulled the election in which Guillermo Endara was elected president.
• The Bush administration spearheaded the negotiations of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
• "Read my lips: no new taxes"

   The above list is not inclusive of all the major events of his four years in office of POTUS but does indicate a time of turmoil in the world.  There is of course his Famous "Read my Lips" promise which he later recanted when it became obvious that the Democratically controlled Congress (both House and Senate) were intent on forcing a tax increase partially due to the increase in the deficit.

   Throughout all the ups and downs of a political life, however, he demonstrated a constancy of character that is the hallmark of what most parents try to teach their children.  He was never a fierce partisan but often a pragmatic politician. He became the target of both Democrats and Republicans and was often derided for his policies. Partically due to basic kindness he was labled as a :Wimp." That is the fodder of political life.

   However, I would venture to guess that most everyone will look back on his life and recognize the humanity of this man.  We have lose most of that in our current political and social interaction in the intervening time. I doubt that his death will bring a new revival of collegial interactions between our fringe disparate views of how to run a country, but it should serve as an example of basic human decency that was the hallmark of his life.

"Early on the morning of January 17, 1991, allied forces launched the first attack, which included more than 4,000 bombing runs by coalition aircraft.  This pace would continue for the next four weeks, until a ground invasion was launched on Sunday, February 24, 1991."------ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberation_of_Kuwait_campaign Wiki

   That Sunday morning, my cocoon blew up. My wife woke me up saying I was having a nightmare. I had long since thought I had buried the residual nightmares from my combat experience 22 years before. All of a sudden, the world was in another major military engagement. I was 46 years old and in the middle of a carefully crafted career, family and normalcy bubble of denial.  The news and TV coverage of the ensuing invasion of Kuwait was a stark reminder of sacrifices being made by 18-22 years old soldiers who were not even alive when my combat ended.  

   I would like to say that February 24, 1991 was a demarcation line which began my reconciliation with the abyss that I had carefully avoided. That would not be accurate; it took another fifteen years until after my retirement when I found the courage or time to confront what I had buried those many years ago.

   However my admiration for #41 was cemented when he made the announcement that the war was over.  Many will debate the pros and cons of the announcement and policy described below, but I only wish that we had that kind of leadership back in 1965-1973 when were engaged in a protracted military engagement without the clear purpose or end game in mind.  We had met the objective, we had done so within a minimum of time, we had used all the resources needed to accomplish the mission, we had allowed the military leadership the flexibility to plan and execute the liberation.

Then with the resolve and strength of character the objective had been met, George H. W. Bush announced the end of the engagement.

Here is the complete Transcript of that speech.

   Kuwait is liberated. Iraq's army is defeated. Our military objectives are met. Kuwait is once more in the hands of Kuwaitis, in control of their own destiny. We share in their joy, a joy tempered only by our compassion for their ordeal.

   Tonight the Kuwaiti flag once again flies above the capital of a free and sovereign nation. And the American flag flies above our Embassy.

   Seven months ago, America and the world drew a line in the sand. We declared that the aggression against Kuwait would not stand. And tonight, America and the world have kept their word.

   This is not a time of euphoria, certainly not a time to gloat. But it is a time of pride: pride in our troops; pride in the friends who stood with us in the crisis; pride in our nation and the people whose strength and resolve made victory quick, decisive, and just. And soon we will open wide our arms to welcome back home to America our magnificent fighting forces.

   No one country can claim this victory as its own. It was not only a victory for Kuwait but a victory for all the coalition partners. This is a victory for the United Nations, for all mankind, for the rule of law, and for what is right.

   After consulting with Secretary of Defense Cheney, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Powell, and our coalition partners, I am pleased to announce that at midnight tonight eastern standard time, exactly 100 hours since ground operations commenced and 6 weeks since the start of Desert Storm, all United States and coalition forces will suspend offensive combat operations. It is up to Iraq whether this suspension on the part of the coalition becomes a permanent cease-fire.

   Coalition political and military terms for a formal cease-fire include the following requirements:

   Iraq must release immediately all coalition prisoners of war, third country nationals, and the remains of all who have fallen. Iraq must release all Kuwaiti detainees. Iraq also must inform Kuwaiti authorities of the location and nature of all land and sea mines. Iraq must comply fully with all relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions. This includes a rescinding of Iraq's August decision to annex Kuwait and acceptance in principle of Iraq's responsibility to pay compensation for the loss, damage, and injury its aggression has caused.

   The coalition calls upon the Iraqi Government to designate military commanders to meet within 48 hours with their coalition counterparts at a place in the theater of operations to be specified to arrange for military aspects of the cease-fire. Further, I have asked Secretary of State Baker to request that the United Nations Security Council meet to formulate the necessary arrangements for this war to be ended.

   This suspension of offensive combat operations is contingent upon Iraq's not firing upon any coalition forces and not launching Scud missiles against any other country. If Iraq violates these terms, coalition forces will be free to resume military operations.

   At every opportunity, I have said to the people of Iraq that our quarrel was not with them but instead with their leadership and, above all, with Saddam Hussein. This remains the case. You, the people of Iraq, are not our enemy. We do not seek your destruction. We have treated your POW's with kindness. Coalition forces fought this war only as a last resort and look forward to the day when Iraq is led by people prepared to live in peace with their neighbors.

   We must now begin to look beyond victory and war. We must meet the challenge of securing the peace. In the future, as before, we will consult with our coalition partners. We've already done a good deal of thinking and planning for the postwar period, and Secretary Baker has already begun to consult with our coalition partners on the region's challenges. There can be, and will be, no solely American answer to all these challenges. But we can assist and support the countries of the region and be a catalyst for peace. In this spirit, Secretary Baker will go to the region next week to begin a new round of consultations.

   This war is now behind us. Ahead of us is the difficult task of securing a potentially historic peace. Tonight though, let us be proud of what we have accomplished. Let us give thanks to those who risked their lives. Let us never forget those who gave their lives. May God bless our valiant military forces and their families, and let us all remember them in our prayers.

   Good night, and may God bless the United States of America.

   Here was a man comfortable in his own skin, who felt no need to prove his courage. He had done that early in his life. He was flawed like us all but A WIMP, I don't think so!