Lt.
Commander Bill Goss, USN (Ret) is an internationally
known speaker and author. Enlisting in 1974,
Bill worked on underwater weapons in Europe
for the U.S. Navy until he was discharged
as a Mineman Second Class in 1977. A former New Jersey Golden Glove boxer, Bill was also the light-heavy weight boxing champion at the U.S. Naval Air Stations in Pensacola, Corpus Christi, and Jacksonville. After his enlisted tour of duty, Bill attended
Rutgers University on the GI Bill and earned
an MBA from the Southern New Hampshire University. Bill graduated Aviation Officer
Candidate School in Pensacola, Florida, and
earned his Navy Wings of Gold the following
year in Corpus Christi, Texas.
As a P-3
Orion pilot, Bill flew missions against
Soviet submarines in the North and South Atlantic
and Mediterranean and deployed to a very wide
variety of sites around the world. He became
an instructor pilot in the T-44 Pegasus and
then the Assistant Navigator of the nuclear
aircraft carrier, USS Carl Vinson, deploying
throughout the Pacific from the Vinson's homeport
in the San Francisco Bay area. Bill and his
family returned to the east coast where he
flew P-3 Orions and a variety of other aircraft
while working for the admiral at NAS Jacksonville.
While there, Bill was diagnosed with a rare
form of cancer called amelanotic malignant
melanoma, had surgery, and retired from the
Navy. Bill is the author of The Luckiest
Unlucky Man Alive: A Wild Ride Overcoming
Life's Greatest Challenges -- And How You
Can Too. His second book, published by
Simon and Schuster's newest hardcover imprint,
Atria Books, is titled There's a Flying
Squirrel in My Coffee: Overcoming Cancer With
the Help of My Pet.
Bill is a contributing writer to many other
books including the New York Times bestseller,
Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul.
Bill's life story has been featured on national
and international radio shows, and in publications
such as the Chicago Tribune, The Los Angeles
Times, New Jersey Star Ledger, The Dallas
Morning News, The St. Petersburg Times,
and Maxim Magazine.
A motivational and inspirational speaker,
Bill is featured every month on the Discovery
Channel's Animal Planet. Bill's mailing address
is:
Bill Goss International
P.O. Box 7060
Orange Park, FL 32073
The op-ed piece written below was both inspired by and derived from a superb speech given by Admiral James L. Holloway, former Chief of Naval Operations. It was published in WINGS OF GOLD magazine by the Association of Naval Aviation, of which Admiral Holloway is Chairman of the Board Emeritus. You can order the magazine WINGS OF GOLD and join the association by visiting: www.anahq.org. (Photo of George H. Bush courtesy of Association of Naval Aviation).
George H. Bush
How incredible a man was the 41st President of the United States? Well, what you're going to read only covers a brief period of his life, from age 17 to 19, but it will tell you a huge amount about this man's all-American character. And it will tell you why George H. Bush is a living hero to aviators spanning the globe, and in particular, to U.S. Navy pilots.
So why do Navy pilots so highly regard this man? Because they know that although young Bush had already been accepted into college, he instead elected to voluntarily enlist in the Navy as an aviation cadet on his 18th birthday. This act was the purest demonstration of a young man wanting to serve his country in its time of need - rather than wanting to be served.
Navy pilots know that that the smooth-faced kid then sped through the pilot training program, earning his commission and his highly coveted Navy pilot Wings of Gold while still only eighteen years old...an utterly extraordinary world-class demonstration of learning ability, hand-eye coordination, endurance, and maturity for someone who would still be a teenager for one more year.
Navy pilots know that the teenage boy then almost immediately starting flying combat missions from off the pitching deck of a converted cruiser, flying a TBM Avenger, a large and powerful torpedo plane, and that he made over 125 carrier takeoffs and landings under all kinds of difficult and extremely fatiguing conditions. Immediately after one of these takeoffs his engine completely failed and he successful ditched his bomb-laden plane into the waves below, enabling his two crewmen to escape from their sinking aircraft without injury.
His next brush with death was even more harrowing, this time over the Japan controlled island of Chi-Chi Jima. Here's what the citation on his Distinguished Flying Cross reads:
"For heroism and extraordinary achievement as a pilot of a torpedo plane leading a two-plane section in a strike against a radio station, LTJG Bush pressed home his attacks in the face of intense anti-aircraft fire. Although his plane was hit and set afire at the beginning of his dive, he continued his plunge toward the target and scored damaging bomb hits before bailing out of his craft."
We're talking resolve here, folks - and unbelievable amounts of courage - in a young man still a teenager. He could have aborted his attack and bailed out when his chances of survival were so much higher, but young Bush had made a decision when he was 18 to serve his country - instead of being served - and he stuck with that decision. When he finally bailed out at low altitude, he was struck by the tail of his aircraft and his parachute was almost destroyed. It's remarkable he survived his impact into the waves below. (This story is powerfully expanded upon in FLYBOYS, the New York Times bestselling book by James Bradley.)
After a dramatic and extremely fortuitous pickup by the rescue sub USS Finback, the young aviator spent one month as a submariner prior to being returned to his Hawaii. There he immediately requested that he be returned to VT-51, his squadron aboard the USS San Jacinto in the western Pacific.
Again, the young Bush was to demonstrate enormous personal character. Normally, combat experienced military aviators who had "lucked out" while serving at the front lines received good deal orders back to America to train new pilots. Bush was offered this same opportunity to return to the relative comfort and safety of the States. But George H. had chosen to serve - rather than be served - and he took this decision very seriously. So he went right back to living under the cramped conditions aboard the USS San Jacinto with his squadron mates staying with them until they had endured a casualty rate of over 50 percent. And he continued to fly combat missions over the western Pacific against the aggressive Japanese Navy being led by Admiral Yamamoto, the architect of the first surprise aerial attack on America at Pearl Harbor.
To veterans and aviators everywhere, that the tenth and final Nimitz-class
aircraft carrier, CVN 77, is now named after George H. Bush, is only
fitting. While I was a Navy pilot, I served a tour of duty as the
Assistant Navigator and as an Underway Officer of the Deck aboard
CVN 70. What I observed first hand on the Navigation Bridge was this
- that the immense capabilities of only one Nimitz-class aircraft
carrier dwarfs the entire military capabilities of almost all of the
world's other countries. With that knowledge, I am absolutely certain
that America can win the world war against global Islamic extremism
(which is funding virtually all of the world's terrorists) even if
we have to go it alone, just as long as we maintain our resolve. Ideally,
we want freedom-loving countries across the globe joining in with
us in this extraordinarily important fight for freedom of religious
expression and for sexual equality. But if we have to go it alone,
we absolutely do have this capability, especially when we have past
and present leadership, in fact a bloodline of military aviators,
at the tip of the spear that are committed to us staying the course,
that are committing to keeping America safe AND free.
My only hope is that a few years from now this father and son presidential team can share in the excitement with Barbara and Laura as they smash a bottle of champagne into the USS George H. W. Bush, setting her sliding down the ramp to take its place as the newest and most powerful warship in the world - a symbol of resolve and freedom on the high seas for the next 50 years - and named after one of America's greatest living heroes.
