George W. Bush: Difference between revisions

George Walker Bush was born on July 6, 1946, at [[Grace-New Haven Hospital]] in [[New Haven, Connecticut]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Ahles |first=Dick |title=Bush's Birthplace? It's Deep in the Heart of ... New Haven |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/24/nyregion/bush-s-birthplace-it-s-deep-in-the-heart-of-new-haven.html |url-status=live |work=The New York Times |date=December 24, 2000 |access-date=December 27, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101026120450/http://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/24/nyregion/bush-s-birthplace-it-s-deep-in-the-heart-of-new-haven.html |archive-date=October 26, 2010}}</ref> He was the first child of [[George Herbert Walker Bush]] and [[Barbara Pierce]]. He was raised in [[Midland, Texas|Midland]] and [[Houston]], Texas with four siblings: [[Jeb Bush|Jeb]], [[Neil Bush|Neil]], [[Marvin Bush|Marvin]] and [[Dorothy Bush Koch|Dorothy]]. Another younger sister, [[Pauline Robinson Bush|Robin]], died from [[leukemia]] at the age of three in 1953.<ref>{{cite news |access-date=September 1, 2008 |date=February 3, 2005 |url=http://www.famoustexans.com/georgewbush.htm |title=George Walker Bush |work=[[Famous Texans]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080915050752/http://www.famoustexans.com/georgewbush.htm |archive-date=September 15, 2008 |url-status=live |last1=Winner |first1=Lucky }}</ref> His paternal grandfather, [[Prescott Bush]], was a U.S. senator from [[Connecticut]].<ref>{{cite web |access-date=February 12, 2010 |url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=b001167 |title=Bush, Prescott Sheldon, (1895–1972) |publisher=[[Biographical Directory of the United States Congress]] |archive-date=February 3, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100203192745/http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=b001167 |url-status=live }}</ref> His father was [[Ronald Reagan]]'s vice president from 1981 to 1989 and the 41st U.S. president from 1989 to 1993. Bush has [[English Americans|English]] and [[German Americans|German]] ancestry, along with more distant [[Dutch Americans|Dutch]], [[Welsh Americans|Welsh]], [[Irish Americans|Irish]], [[French Americans|French]], and [[Scottish Americans|Scottish]] roots.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ancestry of George W. Bush |publisher=Wargs.com |url=http://www.wargs.com/political/bush.html |access-date=April 20, 2010 |archive-date=September 14, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180914194615/http://www.wargs.com/political/bush.html |url-status=live }}</ref>{{synthesis inline|date=January 2023}}

In May 1968, Bush was commissioned into the [[Texas Air National Guard]].<ref name="wpbushguardquestion">{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A7372-2004Feb2.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160414134915/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A7372-2004Feb2.html |archive-date=April 14, 2016 |title=Bush's Guard Service In Question |access-date=September 1, 2008 |last=Romano |first=Lois |date=February 3, 2004 |newspaper=The Washington Post |pages=A08 }}</ref> After two years of training in active-duty service,<ref name="lardner19990728">{{cite news |last1=Lardner |first1=George Jr. |last2=Romano |first2=Lois |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/campaigns/wh2000/stories/bush072899.htm |title=At Height of Vietnam, Bush Picks Guard |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=July 28, 1999 |access-date=March 1, 2002 |archive-date=September 13, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170913034222/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/campaigns/wh2000/stories/bush072899.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> he was assigned to [[Houston]], flying [[Convair F-102]]s with the [[147th Reconnaissance Wing]] out of [[Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base]].<ref name=wpbushguardquestion /><ref>{{cite news |first=Byron |last=York |url=http://www.nationalreview.com/flashback/york200408261025.asp |title=The Facts about Bush and the National Guard |work=National Review |date=August 26, 2004 |access-date=September 1, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080830012958/http://www.nationalreview.com/flashback/york200408261025.asp |archive-date=August 30, 2008 }}</ref> Critics, including former [[Democratic National Committee]] Chairman [[Terry McAuliffe]], have alleged that Bush was favorably treated due to his father's political standing as a member of [[United States House of Representatives|the House of Representatives]], citing his selection as a pilot despite his low pilot aptitude test scores and his irregular attendance.<ref name=wpbushguardquestion /> In June 2005, [[United States Department of Defense|the Department of Defense]] released all the records of Bush's Texas Air National Guard service, which remain in its official archives.<ref name="USDoDbushrecords">{{cite news |publisher=Department of Defense |url=http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/bush_records/index.html |title=Official DoD service records of Texas Air National Guard member George Walker Bush |date=June 17, 2005 |access-date=September 1, 2008 |archive-date=September 30, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930154647/http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/bush_records/index.html }}</ref>