Vice President Mike Pence gave a eulogy honoring the late President George H.W. Bush Monday afternoon, sharing a story about the elder Bush signing a letter for his son after he accomplished his first tailhook landing.
Former President George H.W. Bush passed away on November 30, 2018, at the age of 94. (RELATED: Here’s A Look Back At George H.W. Bush’s Life In Pictures)
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“After a lifetime of writing letters, my son got one, just not too long ago. As I told two of his sons this weekend, when our son made his first tailhook landing as a Marine aviator on the USS George Herbert Walker Bush, I took the liberty of writing the ship’s namesake to ask for a small favor. I didn’t write him as a vice president to a former president. I just wrote as a proud dad of a Marine aviator to a former Navy pilot,” Pence stated. (RELATED: Trump Pays Tribute To George H.W. Bush, Will Attend Funeral)
Bush will lie in state the U.S. Capitol rotunda until Wednesday morning’s funeral at Washington National Cathedral.
“I asked him to sign a picture of the flight deck that I could give to my son. Now we were told by the staff that the president had long since ended the practice of signing autographs and we understood that,” the vice president continued. “But little to my surprise, just in time for my son’s winging, there came not only a signed photograph but, of course, a letter. Hand-signed as well. August 2018. In that letter, President Bush wrote to my son in his words, ‘Congratulations on receiving your wings of gold. I know how proud you and your family are at this moment.'”
The casket carrying the remains of the late former U.S. President George H.W. Bush stands inside the U.S. Capitol rotunda during ceremonies in Washington D.C., U.S., December 3, 2018. (REUTERS/Eric Thayer)
Pence added, “And then in words that assured us that the letter came directly from him, he wrote, ‘Though we have not met, I share the pride your father has for you during this momentous occasion, and I wish you many C.A.V.U. days ahead. All the best, G. Bush.’ I would come to learn that that acronym, ‘CAVU,’ for short is a term Navy pilots have used since World War II. It stands for ceiling and visibility unlimited.”