Bush to Join Reunion of Navy Shipmates
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WASHINGTON — President Bush will be reunited today with veterans of the aircraft carrier on which he was serving when his torpedo bomber was shot down over the Pacific in 1944.
More than 200 veterans of the carrier San Jacinto, which had a complement of 1,600 men, have been holding a reunion this week.
The White House said Bush would meet with them at nearby Andrews Air Force Base, Md., before taking off to spend the Memorial Day weekend at his home in Kennebunkport, Me.
The President met privately Thursday in the Oval Office with two of the San Jacinto veterans. They were Robert B. Stinnett, a ship’s photographer who has written a book about Bush’s World War II experiences, and Lee Nadeau, a gunner who had flown on Bush’s plane but not on the fateful Sept. 2, 1944, flight.
Bush was rescued by a Navy submarine after parachuting as he approached the volcanic island of Chichi Jima.
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