George H.W. Bush enlisted in the Navy right out of high school. In 1944, he entered combat as one of the youngest pilots in the Navy at age 20. He flew an Avenger torpedo/dive bomber off the USS San Jacinto. On Sept. 2, 1944, his squadron was tasked with bombing a radio facility on the island of Chichi Jima (near Iwo Jima). The anti-aircraft fire was intense and most of the planes were hit. Bush was forced to bail out. In the process, he banged his head on the tail and entered the water bleeding profusely. He did manage to get in a life raft. His two crew members (Ted White and John Delanay) did not make it. Bush was picked up by the submarine Finback. He spent a month on board before being returned to his ship. He ended the war having flown 58 missions and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his Chichi Jima mission. He had been brave, but also lucky. There were eight men who went down that day and all the others were captured by the Japanese. These unfortunate souls were tortured and then beheaded. Then their livers and thighs were eaten by their captors. These acts of cannibalism resulted in the executions of four Japanese officers after the war for war crimes.
https://www.history.com/news/george-hw-bush-wwii-airman
https://www.warhistoryonline.com/instant-articles/george-bush-the-only-survivor.html
https://allthatsinteresting.com/george-bush-cannibalized-chichijima-incident
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