Air force One

[Phillbo]

I could give a rats ass who the prez is but that is one beautiful air plane. I watched it fly over mi casa earlier. Wow, I can't wait to fly it!!

[Truckman]

Wow, I can't wait to fly it!!

You'll be the first skydiver in history who had to jump with a half dozen Secret Service agents......Ben

[Phillbo]

You'll be the first skydiver in history who had to jump with a half dozen Secret Service agents......Ben

Nope... W has done it a few times.

[Truckman]

Nope... W has done it a few times.

You are correct...He set the standard...But it was 41, not 43, right?......Ben

[Phillbo]

Yeah, 41.... Jumped with the Golden Knights.

[Truckman]

Yeah, 41.... Jumped with the Golden Knights.

One of his earliest jumps was in September, 1944 when he and eight other airmen jumped out of their aircraft after a bombing and strafing raid against Japanese forces...The other eight were captured and held on Chichi Jima, a small island in the Bonins...The prevailing winds that day blew Bush's parachute further out to sea where he was later spotted and picked up by the USS Finback (SS-230)...The other eight were held captive, and some later beheaded and eaten by Japanese officers in a ritual cannibal act...None survived...For those interested, I recommend Flyboys by James Bradley for the full story...

The President was said to feel some guilt for the rest of his life having been the only one of those who jumped to have lived to remember it...Today marks the 75th anniversary of the invasion of one of the other, better known islands of the Bonin Group, Iwo Jima (jima means island in the Japanese language)...One of my research contacts is a Canadian group of mapmakers...This is an interactive map they just completed showing what the US forces were up against......Ben