but he is credited with rescuing the tiny oil rich nation of kuwait. from saddam hussein's million man army of iraq. before george herbert walker bush took his first step in the white house he learned to walk in kennebunkport mane born june 12th, 1924. he was the second of five general to dorothy and senator prescott bush. with high school behind him, george was accepted at yale university but put his education on hold. the start of the second world war beckoned him to serve his country instead. in 1942, george bush celebrated his 18th birthday by enlisting in the u.s. naval reserve. within a year, he was enson bush, the youngest fighter pilot in the navy. taking part in 58 combat missions in the pacific theater. bush was flying his plane on a special bombing mission over china when he was shot