WWII Pilot George Bush Pours Out His Heart in Rare, Breathtaking Love Letters to Barbara (2093 hits)
Barbara Bush and George Bush have been married for 70 years.
Image Credit: AP
They are both 90 years old.
Image Credit: George Bush Presidential Library and Museum/ Getty Images
The Bush Library has provided IJReview with some of the Bushes’ original love letters from 1943. George Bush was writing his fiancée, Barbara Pierce, as he trained to be a pilot in World War II, where he went on to fly and fight in the Pacific Theater. The couple’s engagement had just become public.
Image Credit: George Bush Presidential Library and Museum
“My Darling Bar,
This should be a fairly easy letter to write— words should come easily and in short it should be simple for me to tell you how desperately happy I was to open the paper and see the announcement of our engagement, but somehow I can’t possibly say all in a letter I should like to.
I love you, precious; with all my heart and to know that you love me means my life. How often I have thought about the immeasurable joy that will be ours some day. How lucky our children will be to have a mother like you—
So the days go by, the time of our departure draws nearer. For a long time I have anxiously looked forward to the day when we would go abroad and set to sea. It seemed that obtaining that goal would be all I could desire for some time, but, Bar, you have changed all that. I cannot say that I do not want to go—for that would be a lie. We have been working for a long time with a single purpose in mind, to be so equipped that we meet and defeat our enemy. I do want to go because it is my part. But now having present[ed] itself not as an adventure but as a job, which I hope, will be over before long. Even now, with a good while between us and the sea, I am thinking of getting back. This may sound melodramatic, but if it does it is only my inadequacy to say what I mean. Bar, you have made my life full of everything I could ever dream of— my complete happiness should be to hear of my love for you.
Wednesday is definitely the commissioning and I do hope you’ll be there. I’ll call mom tomorrow about my plan. A lot of fellows put down their parents and they aren’t going so you could pose as Mrs.—. just say you lost the invite and give your name. They’ll check the list and you’ll be in. How proud I’ll be if you can come.
I’ll tell you all about the latest flying developments later. We have so much to do and so little time to do it in. It is frightening at times. The seriousness of this is beginning to strike home. I have been made Asst. Gunnery Officer. I’m afraid I know very little about it but I am excited at having such a job. I’ll tell you all about this later too.
The wind of late has been blowing like mad and our flying has been cut to a minimum. My plane, #2 now, is up at quonset having a carrier installed. It is Bar #2 but purely in spirit since the Atlantic fleet won’t let us have names on our planes.
Goodnight, my beautiful. Every time I say beautiful you about kill me but you will have to accept it—
I hope I get Thursday off—there’s still a chance. All my love, darling—
Poppy
Public fiancé as of 12/12/43.”
The original letter:
Here is Barbara’s response to George from the Phillips Academy, where she was a student.
Image Credit: George Bush Presidential Library and Museum
“Dear Poppy-
I think it was perfectly swell of you to invite me to the dance and I would love to come or go or whatever you say. I wrote (illegible name) yesterday or the day before and, rather logically, I haven’t heard from her but I’m sure she is going to let us come or go etc. I really am excited but scared to death, too. If you hear a big noise up there, don’t worry it’s just my knees knocking.”
