Former U.S. President and U.S. Naval Aviator George H.W. Bush (Bush Sr.) having qualified at the age of 18, was commissioned an Ensign in the USNR on June 9, 1943, just 3 days before his 19th birthday, after completing the 10-month naval aviation course.
Bush was the youngest overall Naval Aviator in WWII up to that date; just over a month later, on July 16, 1943, Chuck Downey was also commissioned as an Ensign, making him the youngest Naval Aviator of WWII, at 18yrs, 11 months, 14 days old.
He was NOT the youngest fighter pilot. My Uncle, Paul Coari, was the youngest fighter pilot in World War II. But - I guess since Bush was the president - people think it's okay that he claims to be the youngest fighter pilot, even though he was not.
Calving graham
No, he was not a Navy pilot. He commanded a PT boat, PT-109, during World War 2. His boat was destroyed and he won a Navy Cross for his efforts to return his crew to safety.
none + 1
Calvin Graham
john rodgers was the youngest veteran in world war 2
He has little connection to WW 2. He was still a baby when the war ended. His father served valiantly as a navy pilot during this war.
George H.W. Bush (father of George W. Bush) was 17 when the US entered World War II in December, 1941. In August, 1942, at age 18, he became a Navy pilot trainee. He became the youngest Naval Aviator of the war in June, 1943 and flew combat missions in the Pacific in 1944. He received the Distinguished Flying Cross as an attack pilot aboard the aircraft carrier USS San Jacinto.
He wanted to be a pilot from childhood, he became a navy pilot and flew in the Korean war.
The Royal Australian Navy had the Fifth largest navy in the world at the begginning of World War 2.
At 18 years of age future President George Herbert Walker Bush was a naval aviator in WW2 winning the distinguished flying cross as the then youngest pilot in naval history. President John F. Kennedy was also in the Navy. As a lieutenant he commanded the PT boat, PT-109. President John F. Kennedy was a fighter pilot during world war 11, he was even shot down in the sea.
Yes, he was a Marine Corps pilot in WWII and the Korean War.