Former President Bush visits namesake carrier

[January 10, 2009]  NORFOLK, Va. (AP) -- Former President George H.W. Bush made an unexpected visit Friday to his namesake aircraft carrier as thousands of crew members put the finishing touches on the 1,092-foot vessel the day before its commissioning.

Bush, 84, walked with a cane but moved briskly to greet the commanding officer, Capt. Kevin E. O'Flaherty, at the gangplank.

"Just walked here to prove I could," Bush joked. Asked about his feelings on the eve of the commissioning, Bush replied, "Very excited, very emotional. I'm very proud of the kids on the ship."

The $6.2 billion warship is the 10th and final in the Nimitz class of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers first launched in 1972. They are the largest warships in the world. An estimated 20,000 dignitaries and guests are expected its commissioning Saturday at Naval Station Norfolk, including the 41st president's son, President George W. Bush.

O'Flaherty said the crew was especially "fired up" because of Bush's extraordinarily strong link to the Navy. He joined the Navy on his 18th birthday: June 12, 1942.

Bush flew torpedo bombers off the converted aircraft carrier USS San Jacinto. In 1944, he was on a mission over the Pacific when Japanese anti-aircraft fire hit his plane. He parachuted into the sea and was rescued by a Navy submarine. He later was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and three Air Medals for his Navy service in the Pacific Theater.

Bush became the first U.S. president to visit a namesake carrier. Former President Ronald Reagan was the first living president to have a carrier named for him, but he was unable to visit it before he died.

"I think he was so amazed, he was almost overcome," O'Flaherty said of Bush's four-hour tour on Thursday.

The Bush features technological advancements that make it a bridge to the next generation of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, said officers and its builder, Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding.

The ship was opened to visitors Friday as 2,500 crew members and contractors made finishing touches. In a break from tradition, the Bush will undergo sea trials after its commissioning.

A bronze statue of Bush is on the hangar bay deck, a cavernous area that normally would be crowded with aircraft. The ship can hold more than 80. The likeness of the former president shows a youthful, smiling Bush in his flight suit.

A cramped "tribute room" on an upper deck attempts to span the life of the former president, from his days in the Navy to his term in the White House.

The room's designer, William Maple, said the space was daunting: "This man lived a very full life. How do we truncate this to an 18-by-16-foot room?"

It contains a plaque with an aviator's abbreviated adage: CAVU -- ceiling and visibility unlimited. Navy officers said the words reflect Bush's life view.

Crew members worked furiously throughout the ship. Some carried dustpans with small brooms, while others stood at attention and patiently explained the operations of the ship to visitors.

Bosun's Mate Russell Crib, 24, of Willacoochee, Ga., stood beside the huge chains -- each link weighing 300 pounds -- that hoist the ship's two anchors. Like many of the crew members, he has been working for months on board.

"We've taken it from dust and metal and turned it into this," he said, his bosun's pipe hanging from a woven lanyard on his neck. He said he learned the labyrinths below decks by "walking around a couple hours lost."

Petty Officer Frederick Patton, 40, of Anniston, Ala., stood before 20 gauges and an array of buttons and switches for the catapult system that launches planes from the deck. For practice, he said, the crew launched sleds into the James River.

Asked if he looked forward to the real thing, he said, "It's been a long time coming."

[Associated Press; By STEVE SZKOTAK]

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