President George H.W. Bush’s legacy lives on at Texas A&M
At the university, the decorated World War II Navy pilot and former U.S. president found kindred spirits who shared his strong belief in integrity, leadership and service and the desire to be a force for good.
As the United States prepares to celebrate its 250th anniversary and Texas A&M University its 150th, it’s a perfect time to reflect on a man who not only served his country but also became a champion of public service. And although George H.W. Bush wasn’t an Aggie, he lived his life in accordance with the university’s Core Values, and his legacy of selfless service and leadership can still be seen all across Aggieland to this day.
The man who enlisted in the U.S. Navy at age 18 would become not only the president of the United States but also a leader whose life reflected a belief that great leadership begins in service.
For Bush, Texas A&M was a place he chose intentionally. It became the home of the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum and The Bush School of Government and Public Service, and it became his final resting place. His choice reflected something deeper than affiliation. It reflected a shared philosophy of leadership rooted in duty, humility, service and responsibility to others.
Bush once said that Texas A&M was “first in service to our nation,” affirming the university’s long-standing culture of contribution and public purpose. His decision to establish the Bush School at Texas A&M further reinforced his belief that leadership should ultimately be measured by service to others and responsibility to the country.
Those same principles defined Bush’s own life. He often spoke about duty as a lifelong responsibility. Throughout his life, he consistently emphasized service, humility, loyalty and collective responsibility over self-interest or personal recognition. That leadership philosophy remains deeply embedded within Texas A&M’s culture today.
A Navy aviator’s call to serve
Long before he became president or perhaps had even heard of Texas A&M, young George H.W. Bush was an 18-year-old from Milton, Massachusetts, who chose to serve in the U.S. Navy during World War II. As one of the youngest naval aviators of his generation, Bush flew 58 combat missions as a Navy torpedo bomber. In 1944, his plane was attacked by Japanese antiaircraft during a bombing mission of Chi Chi Jima, but he completed the run before ejecting. Two of Bush’s crew members died in the attack, but his bravery earned him a Distinguished Flying Cross. He would recover from his injuries and continue to fly successful missions until his honorable discharge in 1945 after Japan’s surrender.
Honed in combat, Bush learned lessons of discipline, sacrifice, courage and quiet leadership that stayed with him for the rest of his life.
After returning to civilian life, Bush married Barbara Pierce and enrolled at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, where he was a standout academic and baseball star. He graduated in 1948 with a degree in economics and shortly thereafter moved to West Texas to work in the oil industry.
Drawn to a life of public service and politics, Bush served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1967 to 1971. After two campaigns for the U.S. Senate were unsuccessful, he served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, chairman of the Republican National Committee, chief of the U.S. Liaison Office in the People’s Republic of China and director of the CIA.
In 1980, President Ronald Reagan selected Bush to be his running mate. After two terms as vice president under Reagan, he won the presidency in 1988. As president, Bush oversaw the collapse of the Berlin Wall, secured Kuwait’s independence in the Gulf War and passed the Americans with Disabilities Act, among many other achievements. He would unsuccessfully run for reelection in 1992 but formed a close bond with successor Bill Clinton years later through humanitarian efforts.
George H.W. Bush’s Impact on Texas A&M
Presidential commencement address
Bush delivers the university’s spring commencement address, which also serves as his first major foreign policy speech as president. He outlines his vision for U.S.–Soviet relations in the closing years of the Cold War.
Selection of Texas A&M as the presidential library site
After a national selection process involving multiple universities, including Yale, Bush chooses Texas A&M as the site for his presidential library. The university’s proposal to build a public affairs school alongside the library proves central to his decision.
Opening of the Bush School and presidential library
The Bush School of Government and Public Service opens in September. One month later, the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum opens, creating a permanent academic and archival presence on campus.
75th birthday parachute jump
To mark his 75th birthday, Bush completes a parachute jump onto the grounds of the presidential library. He would go on to complete several additional jumps in subsequent years.
Dedication of Union Pacific locomotive No. 4141
Union Pacific Railroad Company gives Bush a special locomotive in recognition of his lifelong appreciation of rail transportation. Designated No. 4141, it is painted in the colors of Air Force One and honors his service as the 41st president of the United States.
Induction into the Corps of Cadets Hall of Honor
Bush is inducted into the Texas A&M Corps of Cadets Hall of Honor, becoming one of a select group of non-Corps members recognized by the organization for exceptional service and leadership.
Texas A&M–Yale baseball tribute
Bush takes part in ceremonial first pitch activities at the Texas A&M–Yale baseball game, a meeting of his alma mater and the university he ultimately chose for his presidential library. Texas A&M players mark the occasion with commemorative uniforms featuring patriotic colors and the number 41.
One America Appeal following Hurricane Harvey
In the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, all five living former U.S. presidents convene at Reed Arena for the One America Appeal concert, which raises $2.6 million for disaster relief and recovery efforts.
Barbara Bush burial at the Bush family gravesite
Former first lady Barbara Bush is laid to rest at the Bush family gravesite on the grounds of the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library alongside her daughter, Pauline “Robin” Bush.
State funeral and final journey of President Bush
Following his death at age 94, Bush’s casket is transported by Union Pacific locomotive No. 4141 on the final leg of his journey to College Station, where he is laid to rest alongside Barbara and Robin Bush.
Bush Combat Development Complex opens
The George H.W. Bush Combat Development Complex opens with a vision of accelerating the development, integration and transfer of technology to advance United States defense and security capabilities in critical technology areas.
Opening of the James A. Baker, III Pavilion
The George & Barbara Bush Foundation opens the James A. Baker, III Pavilion, built around locomotive No. 4141. The facility honors Bush’s legacy and his long partnership with Baker, the secretary of state during most of Bush’s presidential term.
41 at 100 Centennial Celebration
Texas A&M commemorates what would have been Bush’s 100th birthday with campuswide programming, including musical performances and commemorative parachute jumps by members of the Bush family.
Why he chose Aggieland
Bush’s first major interactions with Texas A&M came in the 1980s, when he delivered commencement ceremony speeches while serving as Reagan’s vice president. Although he never attended the university, Bush became enamored with Texas A&M’s commitment to service and military history through the Corps of Cadets.
He returned to campus in May 1989 as president to deliver another commencement address that would double as the platform for his first major foreign policy speech since taking office. Behind the scenes, Texas A&M former student and longtime friend Michel Halbouty ’30, ’31 took advantage of the small amount of time Bush had on campus to hand-deliver a formal proposal that outlined Texas A&M’s vision for a presidential library and museum.
Bush’s alma mater, Yale, as well as the University of Houston and Rice University also expressed interest in housing a library and museum once Bush’s presidency ended. However, the prospect of an accompanying school of government set Texas A&M apart.
“I thought Texas A&M was really remarkably brilliant in their bid for the presidential library,” Bush School Founding Director Chuck Hermann said. “They had realized that preparing people for careers in public service in government and nonprofits was a real passion of Bush. So in their proposal, they devote almost as many pages to the concept of creating a school and colocating it with the library as they do the description of the library itself.”
After several White House meetings with his staff and a Texas A&M delegation, Bush told The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents in May 1991 that he and Barbara had chosen Texas A&M for his presidential library and museum.
A living legacy
Fundraising for the $40 million Bush Presidential Library and Museum was underway ahead of its scheduled November 1997 open date, but Bush’s reelection loss to Clinton in 1992 accelerated the process.
Retired Bush Presidential Library and Museum Director Warren Finch, who in 1992 was in charge of Bush’s vice presidential records for the National Archives and Records Administration, was detailed to the White House to begin packing up millions of paper records and transporting them to College Station less than a week after Bush’s election loss.
Bush’s vice presidential and presidential records were packed into 1-cubic-foot boxes, which were loaded into 21 18-foot tractor trailers, transported to Andrews Air Force Base, transferred to airplanes and flown to Fort Hood. Once at Fort Hood, they were driven to College Station and unloaded into a vacant building on University Drive, where they remained until the library’s construction was completed.
On Nov. 6, 1997, nearly four years after Bush left office, three former presidents and a sitting president gathered in College Station to celebrate the grand opening of the George H.W. Bush Presidential Center, a 90-acre site on the university’s West Campus. The audience in attendance for the historic event comprised Texas A&M administrators, current and former U.S. representatives, celebrities, former vice presidents and former first ladies.
One of the first speakers was Bush’s son, then-Texas Gov. and future President George W. Bush.
“When President Bush chose Texas A&M University for his library, he made the perfect choice,” the younger Bush said. “This university is a place of tradition, and George Bush is a man of tradition. This university embodies the spirit by which he lived his life: duty, honor and country.”
The elder Bush agreed with his son.
This university is a place of tradition, and George Bush is a man of tradition. This university embodies the spirit by which he lived his life: duty, honor and country.
“As to whether we got some things right or could have done some things better, the beautiful thing about this library and the 40 million documents here is that history can make its determination, rendering its judgment based on these documents and other materials safeguarded in this building behind us,” he said. “More important to me is how these records will serve to educate future generations of Americans and give them a broader understanding of how their government responded in the way it did to the challenges it faced at a watershed moment in history. Hopefully, the insights gained and the impressions left by the events on display here will do for our visitors what they have done for those who lived them: make deeper our appreciation for the blessings of freedom and democracy and make stronger our devotion to them.”
Next door to his library was something Bush found equally important: the new Bush School of Government and Public Service. From its inaugural class of 19 students, the school has since grown to include a branch location in the nation’s capital.
For former Bush School Dean Ryan Crocker, who served under Bush and five other presidents over the course of his diplomatic career, the former president’s ability to host leaders and have them engage with the university exhibited his passion for bipartisanship and public service.
“Our mission was not to groom future politicians. Some would go on to politics, but it was to groom those who would serve the people, and that meant a nonpartisan approach was absolutely key,” Crocker said. “If you’re going into public service, you must have that mindset.
“He believed that 100 years from now, people would look at the Bush School, and it was from this school that our local, state and federal leaders came generation after generation. That is exactly what is happening as I look around.”
Gen. (Ret.) Mark A. Welsh III, former Bush School dean and former Texas A&M president, said in 2018 that Bush’s presence is felt all around the Presidential Center.
“The Bush School of Government and Public Service is all about him. He is in the DNA. He gave us values, he gave us a mission, he gave us an example,” Welsh said. “The Bush School is about producing men and women to go out and serve their fellow citizens and do it with the same kind of principled leadership and values he demonstrated throughout his career.
“He believed that the school — he told me this personally three or four times — is his living legacy because these are the men and women who will go on to do the kind of service he was so proud of doing himself.”
After the school and library opened, George and Barbara Bush became mainstays at Texas A&M and in College Station. The Presidential Center included an apartment, so the two truly were at home on campus.
They would appear randomly in various places — in the Student Recreation Center, at football and baseball games, in local restaurants and around the Presidential Center, where they’d walk their dogs and fish in the pond by the Bush School. Bush would sometimes even make an appearance in classes.
A legacy of service, innovation and space exploration
Bush’s commitment to service is evident today throughout Texas A&M in myriad ways, including the university’s growing role in national defense research and preparedness. He is the namesake of The Texas A&M University System’s George H.W. Bush Combat Development Complex, which is focused on protecting those who serve by preparing the nation for future threats and advancing capabilities in the service of the greater good.
Bush also saw the importance of space exploration and research. Though he didn’t live to see American astronauts’ return to the moon, the university he loved will be front and center to support future missions with the opening of the Texas A&M University Space Institute this fall. The institute will provide researchers with the resources they need to send humans to explore beyond low Earth orbit, back to the moon and finally on to Mars.
This past January, Texas A&M also partnered with the U.S. Space Force’s Space Training and Readiness Command to welcome two dozen mid-level officers from the Space Force. The officers, known as Guardians, embarked on the inaugural four-week Captain’s Leadership Course at the Bush School.
Bush passed away Friday, Nov. 30, 2018, at age 94. He was buried Thursday, Dec. 6, 2018, on the George H.W. Bush Presidential Center grounds alongside his wife, who passed away in April 2018, and their daughter Robin, who passed away from leukemia at age 3 in 1953.
Bush made his final trip to Aggieland from Houston in 2018 aboard a Union Pacific engine. That engine and a retired Marine One helicopter are part of a permanent exhibit at the George H.W. Bush Presidential Center in the Marine One/4141 Locomotive Pavilion (now the James A. Baker, III Pavilion), which is adjacent to the library and museum and opened in June 2024 on what would have been Bush’s 100th birthday.
John Sharp, former chancellor of the Texas A&M System, said Bush’s legacy will forever be remembered in Aggieland.
“Not only was George H.W. Bush one of the greatest presidents in our nation’s history, he also was one of the finest men to serve our country in so many ways,” Sharp said. “We are proud to call him a son of Texas A&M University and will do everything in our power, through his presidential library, to keep his memory and accomplishments alive for all time.”
Former Texas A&M President Michael K. Young — who worked extensively for the Bush administration on German reunification negotiations and later at the 1992 U.N. Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil — said that whether the emotions and memories are tied to Bush as a war hero, a public servant or a frequent visitor to Aggieland, his presence will be felt in the years to come as it continues to weave into the fabric of Texas A&M.
“The underlying themes that ran through the Bush administration are so consistent with Texas A&M’s values — love of country, love of one another and public service as a noble calling. Every policy, every action, every position was based on those fundamental values. This shared ethos began and solidified the wonderful relationship between the university and President Bush, one which will continue in perpetuity through the Bush School, Bush Foundation and Bush Presidential Library and Museum,” Young said.
Bush once succinctly summed up his relationship with Aggieland: “I love the Aggie Spirit. I like the academic excellence of the place, and I love every single day that I spend on the A&M campus.”
Texas A&M to honor Bush legacy in Coronado
Texas A&M and Haas Factory Team will honor Bush’s legacy on June 21 with a special No. 41 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 tribute car driven by Cole Custer during the Anduril 250 Race the Base NASCAR Cup Series race at Naval Base Coronado. The race, conducted during the U.S. Navy’s 250th anniversary year, will mark the first NASCAR Cup Series event contested on an active military installation.
Read more about the Anduril 250 Race