NEW YORK—In a grand ceremony on Veterans Day, President Bush re-dedicated the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum at Pier 86 on 46th Street on Manhattan’s West Side. The visit will be one of Bush’s last to New York as president.
Joined by First Lady Laura Bush, a slew of officials, and thousands of veterans and supporters, President Bush honored war veterans and a new generation of American heroes serving in the current war on terror.
In his usual manner, he started with some humor, and mentioned his feelings on handing over power to President-elect Barack Obama.
“They often ask me, what are you going to miss about the presidency? And first reaction is, I say, no traffic jams in New York,” Bush said to the New York crowd. “The truth of the matter is, I will miss being the Commander-in-Chief of such a fabulous group of men and women, those who wear the uniform of the United States military.”
President Bush said he was inspired by his veteran father, Former President George H.W. Bush, and remains committed to taking care of veterans.
“I was raised by a veteran. I appreciate the commitment to our country that the veterans have made. I am committed to making sure that today’s veterans get all the health care and support they need from the federal government for agreeing to serve in a time of danger.”
Other notable speakers at the Intrepid Museum ceremony were Christine Quinn, Speaker of the New York City Council, New York State Governor David Paterson, and General James T. Conway, USMC, Commandant of the Marine Corps.
The ceremony started at 11:30 a.m. At 12:30 four U.S. Air Force planes shot across the sky in formation and an explosion of fireworks concluded the show. Then all the service people marched out of the Intrepid with their marching bands and flags for a cross-town march to join the Veterans Day parade at 42nd St.
Despite the advertized 11:30 a.m. start time, once President Bush touched down in Air Force One on the Intrepid, the whole event went into lock down, and no-one, including ticket holders and press, were allowed to enter the event. There were some very disappointed patriots hovering outside on the street trying to catch a glimpse of the live broadcast of the ceremony on board.
Barbara Giffuni, an interior designer from the Upper East Side, came to honor her father who served in the U.S. Coast Guard during World War II. She’d passed by the Intrepid with her father in 1988 and he was excited to see the WWII aircraft carrier. They didn’t have time then to stop, and her father has since passed away.
With tears in her eyes and hand on her chest listening to the sound of the National Anthem floating down from the ship, Giffuni said she was very moved, “I always regretted not bringing him here. It’s just a pity he couldn’t be here with me today.”
Her father, Leo J. Smith, worked in the machine rooms of ships for the U.S. Coast Guard, with which he served in the battle of Midway in the South Pacific. All of his roommates died in the war, but he returned home safely to raise a family of seven children.
“While in Shanghai during the war, my father bought my mother lots of beautiful silk, in all different colors. He bought it back to her and she had the ivory silk made into a wedding gown. I wore that gown on my wedding day,” continued Giffuni. “He used to write her love letters. My mother was the only person who knew where he was going to be. He would spell out his next destination with the first letter of each paragraph.”
Several iconic buildings and bridges around the city and across the five boroughs were lit up Tuesday night in red, white and blue to celebrate the re-opening of the Intrepid museum and to honor veterans. At 6 p.m. the Empire State Building, the Citicorp Center, the Woolworth Buildings, along with the George Washington Bridge, and the Triborough, Throgs neck, Verrazano-Narrows and Bronx-Whitestone bridges all lit up and then were dimmed at 11 p.m. to honor those who’ve given their lives in service to the country.
