Provost Carol Folt: Mr. President, for the degree, Doctor of Laws, the Honorable George
H.W. Bush.
[Applause]
President Jim Yong Kim: George Herbert Walker Bush,
your life of public service began early. When Japan attacked Pearl Harbor you delayed college
to become, at 18, the youngest aviator in the Navy, flying 58 combat missions. During
one mission, your aircraft was struck by flak. With your engine aflame, you completed your
bombing run first before you ditched in the Pacific. After the War you graduated from
Yaleóand then declined the security of the East Coast for the life of a wildcatter in
the oil fields of West Texas. When your ventures prospered, you sold your share of the business,
dedicating yourself to what would become one of the most distinguished careers of public
service in the history of this Republic. Member of Congress. Ambassador to the United
Nations. Chairman of the Republican National Committee. Chief of the United States Liaison
Office in the People's Republic of China. Director of Central Intelligence. Vice President
of the United States. President of the United States.
You worked with Democrats and Republicans alike to enact landmark legislation, including
the Clean Air Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. As the Cold War came to an end, you negotiated
the reunification of Germany and extended support to elected governments throughout
Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. In 1990, you signed into law the Clery Act,
which brought national attention to sexual assault, and paved the way for all colleges
to become safer and more just. "I have just repeatedÖthe oath taken by George
Washington," you said during your inaugural address, "and the Bible on which I placed
my hand is the Bible on which he placed his." Like Washington, you command our gratitude
not only for your accomplishments, but also for your example: love of country, devotion
to family, integrity, and selflessness. In the magnificent life of the forty-first President
of the United States of America, Dartmouth will forever join all Americans in finding
a source of inspiration and courage. George Herbert Walker Bush, in recognition
of your fearless contributions to the military effort during World War II and your tangible
impact on a post-Cold War Europe, Dartmouth proudly awards you the honorary degree Doctor
of Laws.