>> and george w. bush -- i mean, regardless of what you thought about his presidency, he has been extremely respectful in his post presidential life of the national stage and ceding it to his successors this is a moment where he re-enters that national stage. i'm sure he's cognizant of that as well. >> yes, very much. knowing him, i know that he isn't worried or thinking at all about his perception out of this it's how can i honor my father and give the respect due to him for his service to the country and our family i know the bushes have a lot of pride in just seeing how honored their father is being by so many people of such diverse backgrounds, all the stories, all the kindnesses, all of the attention president bush 41 gave to people, whether they were wait staff or a janitor or a

world leader it's a special moment of pride, but it will be hard for president bush to deliver that without crying >> john, i noticed some coverage of the funeral this morning, commenting on body language between two current political opponents and such we'll try to resist that as we focus more on the degree to which this respects the institutions that were important to h.w >> it does and remember the time that produced george h.w. bush. this was a time where respect for authority in the united states was greater across the board. we came out of world war ii with him serving as a heroic aviator who flew 58 bombing missions we triumphed in that war our economy dominated the rest of the world it was an optimistic time, and

people felt good people listened to voices of authority and the congress as well as in the presidency. all that began to change during the 1960s. we had the civil rights revolution, the feminist revolution, opposition to the vietnam war. all those things caused an erosion of respect for authority. that continues to this day so people are not growing up with the same regard for institutions today on the point you were making earlier about george w. bush with sarah, look, it's tough to say good-bye to your dad i've done it my father, who was the same age as george h.w. bush, who was a world war ii marine, died 17 years ago. i delivered a eulogy a few blocks away from here in the navy chapel. so imagine that multiplied 10 million times by the attention of the entire world.

that is going to be hard on an individual human level and just hard to -- >> indeed, john. the funeral service for the 41st president of the united states, george herbert walker bush, is beginning. let's listen in.

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>> with faith in jesus christ, we receive the body of our brother george for burial. let us pray with confidence to god, the giver of life, that he will raise him to perfection in the company of saints. deliver your servant, george, sovereign, lord christ, from all evil and set him free from every bond that he may rest with all your saints in the eternal habitations where with the father and the holy spirit you live and reign, one god forever and ever, amen >> let us pray, also, for all who mourn, that they may cast their care on god and know the consolation of his love. almighty god, look with pity

upon the sorrow of your servants for whom we pray remember them, gracious god, in mercy. nourish them with patience comfort them with a sense of your goodness. lift your countenance upon them and give them peace through jesus christ our lord. >> amen.

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>> i am the resurrection and i am the life says the lord. whoever has faith in me shall have life even though he die and everyone who has life and has committed himself to me in

faith shall not die forever. as for me, i know that my redeemer lives, and at the last, he will stand upon the earth after my awaking, he will raise me up, and in my body, i shall see god. i myself shall see and my eyes behold him, who is my friend and not a stranger for none of us liveth to himself and none becomes his own master when he dies for if we have life, we are alive in the lord, and if we die, we die in the lord. so then whether we live or die, we are the lord's possession happy from now on are those who die in the lord.

so says the spirit, for they rest from their labors.

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♪ ♪ >> the lord be with you. let us pray. o god, whose mercies cannot be numbered, accept our prayers on behalf of your servant george

and grant him an entrance into the land of light and joy in the fellowship or your saints. through jesus christ, our lord, who lives and reigns with you and the holy spirit, one god now and forever. amen. >> a reading from the prophet

isaiah arise, shine, for your light has come and the glory of the lord has risen upon you for darkness shall cover the earth and a thick darkness the peoples, but the lord will arise upon you and his glory will appear over you. nations shall come to your light and kings do the brightness of your dawn. lift up your eyes and look around they all gather together they come to you, your sons shall come from far away, and your daughters shall be carried on their nurses' arms. then you shall see and be radiant your heart shall rejoice because the abundance of the sea shall be brought to you and the wealth

of the nations shall come to you. >> violent shall no more be heard in your land devastation or destruction within your borders. you shall call your walls salvation and your gates praise. the sun shall no longer be your light by day nor for brightness shall the moon give light to you by night but the lord will be your everlasting light and your god will be your glory your sun shall no more go down or your moon withdraw itself, for the lord will be your everlasting light, and your days of mourning shall be ended the word of the lord.

>> the story was almost over, even before it had fully begun

shortly after dawn on saturday, september 2nd, 1944, lieutenant junior george herbert walker bush, joined by two crew mates, took off frto attack a radio tower. as they approached the target, the air was heavy with flak. the plane was hit. smoke filled the cockpit flames raced across the wings. my god, lieutenant bush thought, this thing's going to go down. yet, he kept the plane in its 35-degree dive, dropped his bombs, and then roared off out to sea, telling his crew mates to hit the silk. following protocol, lieutenant bush turned the plane so they could bail out only then did bush parachute

from the cockpit the wind propelled him backward, and he gashed his head on the tail of the plane as he flew through the sky. he plunged deep into the ocean, bobbed to the surface, and flopped on to a tiny raft. his head bleeding, his eyes burning, his mouth and throat raw from salt water, the future 41st president of the united states was alone sensing that his men had not made it, he was overcome he felt the weight of responsibility as a nearly physical burden. and he wept. then at four minutes shy of noon, a submarine emerged to rescue the downed pilot.

george herbert walker bush was safe the story, his story and ours, would go on by god's grace through the ensuing decades, president bush would frequently ask nearly daily, he'd ask himself, why me? why was i spared and in a sense, the rest of his life was a perennial effort to prove himself worthy of his salvation on that distant morning. to him, his life was no longer his own. there were always more missions to undertake, more lives to touch, and more love to give and what a headlong race he made

of it all. he never slowed down on the primary campaign trail in new hampshire once, he grabbed the hand of a department store mannequin, asking for votes. when he realized his mistake, he said, never know, got to ask you can hear the voice, can't you? as dana carvey said, it's mr. rogers trying to be john wayne george herbert walker bush was america's last great soldier statesman, a 20th century founding father. he governed with virtues that most closely resemble those of washington and of adams, of t.r.

and of fdr, of truman and of eisenhower, of men who believed in causes larger than themselves 6'2", handsome, dominant in person, president bush spoke with those big, strong hands, making fists to underscore points a master of what franklin roosevelt called the science of human relationships, he believed that to whom much was given, much is expected and because life gave him so much, he gave back again and again and again. he stood in the breach in the cold war against totalitarianism. he stood in the breach in washington against unthinking partisanship he stood in the breach against tyranny and discrimination

and on his watch, a wall felsta america opened to those with disabilities and in his personal life, he stood in the breach against heartbreak and hurt, always offering an outstretched hand, a warm word, a sympathetic tear. if you were down, he would rush to lift you up and if you were soaring, he would rush to savor your success. strong and gracious, comfortin and charming, loving and loyal, he was our shield in danger's

hour now, of course, there was ambition too, loads of that. to serve, he had to succeed. to preside, he had to prevail. politics, he once admitted, isn't a pure undertaking, not if you want to win, it's not. an imperfect man, he left us a more perfect union it must be said that for a keenly intelligent statesman of stirring, almost unparalleled private eloquence, public speaking was not exactly a strong suit. fluency in english, president bush once remarked, is something that i'm often not accused of. looking ahead to the '88 election, he observed inarguably

it's no exaggeration to say that the undecideds could go one way or the other and late in his presidency, he allowed that we're enjoying sluggish times, but we're not enjoying them very much. his tongue may have run amok at moments, but his heart was steadfast. his life code, as he said, was tell the truth, don't blame people, be strong, do your best, try hard, forgive, stay the course and that was and is the most american of creeds abraham lincoln's better angels of our nation and george h.w.

bush's thousand points of light are companion verses in america's national hymn, for lincoln and bush both called on us to choose the right over the convenient, to hope rather than to fear, and to heed not our worst impulses but our best instincts. in this work, he had the most wonderful of allies in barbara bush, his wife of 73 years he called her barb, the silver fox, and when the situation warranted, the enforcer. he was the only boy she ever kissed her children, mrs. bush liked to say, always wanted to throw up when they heard that in a letter to barbara during the war, young george h.w. bush had written, i love you, precious, with all my heart, and

to know that you love me means my life. how lucky our children will be to have a mother like you. and as they will tell you, they surely were. as vice president, bush once visited a children's leukemia ward in krakow 35 years before, he and barbara had lost a daughter, robin, to the disease. in krakow, a small boy wanted to greet the american vice president. learning that the child was sick with the cancer that had taken robin, bush began to cry to his diary later that day, the vice president said this my eyes flooded with tears, and behind me was a bank of television cameras

and i thought, i can't turn around, i can't dissolve because of personal tragedy in the face of the nurses that give of themselves every day so i stood there looking at this little guy, tears running down my cheek, hoping he wouldn't see, but if he did, hoping he'd feel that i loved him. that was the real george h.w. bush a loving man with a big, vibrant, all-enveloping heart. and so we ask, as we commend his soul to god and as he did, why him? why was he spared? the workings of providence are

mysterious, but this much is clear. the george herbert walker bush who survived that fiery fall into the waters of the pacific three quarters of a century ago made our lives and the lives of nations freer, better, warmer, and nobler that was his mission that was his heartbeat and if we listen closely enough, we can hear that heartbeat even now, for it's the heartbeat of a lion, a lion who not only led us but who loved us that's why him that's why he was spared.

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>> a reading from revelation to st. john then i saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away and the sea was no more. and i saw the holy city, the new jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from god, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. and i heard a loud voice from the throne saying, see, the home of god is among mortals. he will dwell with them. they will be his peoples, and god himself will be with them. he will wipe every tear from

their eyes death will be no more. mourning and crying and pain will be no more. for the first things have passed away then he said to me, it is done i am the alpha and the omega, the beginning, and the end to the thirsty, i will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life those who conquer will inherit these things, and i will be their god, and they will be my children and the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of god is its light and the lamp is the land the nations will walk by its

light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. its gates thewill never be shut day, and there will be no night there. the word of the lord.

>> do you remember where you were the summer you left your teenage years behind and turned 20 well, i was working as a laborer in my hometown in northern quebec, trying to make enough money to get back into law school it was a tough job, but i was safe and secure and had the added benefit of my mother's home cooking every night on september 2nd, 1944, as we have just heard so eloquently from jon, 20-year-old lieutenant george bush was preparing to attack japanese war installations in the pacific he was part of a courageous generation of young americans who led the charge against overwhelming odds in the historic and bloody battle for

supremacy in the pacific against the colossal military might of imperial japan that's what george bush did the summer he turned 20. many men of differing talents and skills have have served as president, and many more will do so as the decades unfold bringing new vestrength and gloy to the united states of america. and 50 or 100 years from now as historians review the accomplishments and the context of all who have served as president, i believe it will be said that in the life of this country, the united states, which is, in my judgment, the greatest democratic republic that god has ever placed on the face of this earth i believe it will be said that no occupant of the oval office

was more courageous, more principled and more honorable than george herbert walker bush. george bush was a man of high accomplishment he also had a delightful sense of humor and was a lot of fun. at his first nato meeting in brussels, as the new american president, he sat opposite me, actually, that day george was taking copious notes as the heads of government spoke. we were all limited in time. but, you know, it's very flattering to have the president of the united states take notes as you speak and even someone as modest as me [ laughter ] threw in a few more adjectives here and there to extend the experience after president mitterrand,

prime minister thatcher, and chancellor kohl had spoken it was the turn of the prime minister of iceland. who, as president bush continued to write, went on and on and on and on ending only when the secretary-general of nato firmly decreed a coffee break george put down his pen, walked over to me and said, brian, i've just learned the fundamental principle of foreign affairs i said, what's that, george? the smaller the country, the longer the speech. [ laughter ] in the second year of the bush presidency responding to implacable pressures from the reagan and bush administrations the soviet union imploded.

this was, in my judgment, the most epical event, political event, of the 20th century an ominous situation that could have become extremely menacing to world security was instead deftly challenged by the leadership of president bush into the broad and powerful currents of freedom providin the russian people with the opportunity to build an embryonic in a country ruled by czars for over 1,000 years as the berlin wall collapsed soon thereafter and calls for freedom cascaded across central and eastern europe leaving dictators and dogma in the trash can of history, no challenge -- no challenge -- assumed greater importance for western solidarity than the unification of germany within an unswerving

nato all fears in western europe and unrelenting hostility by the military establishment in the soviet union and the warsaw pact rendered this initiative among the most complex and sensitive ever undertaken. one serious misstep and this entire process could have been compromised, perhaps irretrievably. there's obviously no more knowledgeable or competent judge what really happened at the most vital juncture of the 20th century than chancellor helmut kohl of germany n. a spee in a speech to the commission of the bundestag said this initiative of german reunification could never, ever have succeeded without the brilliant leadership of president bush

much has been written about the first gulf war simply put the coalition of 29 disparate nations under the aegis of the united nations including for the first time many influential arab countries and led by the united states will rank with the most spectacular and successful international initiatives ever undertaken in modern history designed to punish an aggressor, defend the cause of free am dom, and ensure order in a region that had seen too much of the opposite for far too long. this was president bush's initiative from beginning to end. president bush was also responsible for the north american free trade agreement, recently modernized and improved by new administrations, which created the largest and richest

free trade area in the history of the world while also signing into law the americans with disabilities act which transformed the lives of millions and millions of americans forever. president bush's decision to go forward with strong environmental legislation including the clean air act that resulted in the acid rain accord with canada is a splendid gift to future generations of americans and canadians to savor in the air they breathe and the water they drink and the forests they enjoy and the lakes, rivers, and streams they cherish. there's a word for this. it's called leadership leadership let me tell you, when george bush was president of the united states of america every single

head of government in the world knew that they were dealing with a gentleman, a genuine leader, one who was distinguished, resolute, and brave. i don't keep a diary but occasionally i write private notes after important personal or professional events one occurred at walker's point in kennebunkport, maine, on september 2nd, 2001. neil and i had been spending our traditional labor day weekend with george and barbara. towards the end he and i had a long, private conversation my notes capture the moment. i told george how i thought his mood had shifted over the last eight years from a series of frustrations and moments of despondency in 1993 to the high

enthusiasm that i felt at the houston launch of the presidential library george w.'s election as governor in november of that year, to the delight following jeb's election in 1998, followed by their great pride and pleasure with george w.'s election to the presidency, and perhaps most importantly to the serenity we found today in both barbara and george. they are truly at peace with themselves, joyous in what they and the children have achieved, gratified by the goodness that god has bestowed upon them all and genuinely content with the thrill and promise of each passing day. and at that george had tears in

his eye as i spoke said, you know, brian, you've got us pegged just right. and the roller coaster of emotions we've experienced since 1992 come with me he led me down the porch at walker's point to the side of the house that fronts the ocean and pointed to a small, simple plaque that had been unobtrusively installed just some days earlier. it read, cavu. this stands for ceiling and visibility unlimited when i was a terrified 18 to 19-year-old pilot in the pacific those -- those were the words we hoped to hear before takeoff it meant perfect flying. and that's the way i feel about

our life today cavu everything is perfect. we could not have asked for better lives we are truly happy and truly at peace. as i looked over the waters of walker's point on that golden september afternoon in maine, i was reminded of the lines simple and true that speak to the real nature of george bush and his love of his wonderful family and precious surroundings. there are wooden chips, there are sailing ships, there are ships that sail the sea, but the best ships are friendships and may they always be