world war ii generation point. it clearly defined george h.w. bush s life. we had seven presidents in a row starting with john f. kennedy coming through george bush sr. who were the world war ii presidents, all came of age during world war ii. every single one of those presidents wore a military uniform. six of them were in the war. jimmy carter was in the naval academy when the war ended and went on to serve honorably. when george bush sr. had his inaugural parade, there was a replica of that avenger aircraft that he was in that was in that parade and that was quite purposeful on his part. i want to quickly go back to dana and jamie. they have a guest. thank you. we do have a very special guest. we have ronan tinen here, you heard his beautiful voice not once but twice during this memorial service. thank you for sitting down with us. it s lovely to be here. a sad occasion, but it s not to be here. we want to hear about what brought you to this moment behind us, but first, you
hey, ronan i said, sir, you look great. he said, you need to clean your glasses. i gave him a hug and we chatted about why i was there. you know, he would kind of communicate and then i said to him, well, jean had asked me to sipping so i said do you mind if i sing an irish song first? and he said not at all, that would be lovely. so i sang an irish song and something else. and then jean said, ronan, would you sing a christmas song. i just felt silent night was the right one. while i was singing, he started to mouth the words. then a lot of people, mr. baker was there and his wife. jeb was not jeb, neil, neil and maria. and all and then his doctor came in and then family started to come, so i felt it was time to kiss him and give my last good-bye. but it was a great privilege and
i could. i will miss him desperately. as somebody who was called like a son to somebody like the 41st president, final thought. he was a wonderful father, he was an extraordinary man. he shared himself unconditi unconditionally with a lot of, lot of people. he never judged and he had always a kindness for you whatever you met him. and he was a fun man. we will miss him desperately. it says a lot about you, not just as a singer but as a person that you formed that bond with him. they did a documentary in ireland once on me and i had no idea. it was like this is your life. i had no idea they interviewed him. he said ronan is like a son to
with the late president singing to him on his final day. can you describe that? well, the president and i had been friends for 19 years. it all came about through barbara, because she ran the literacy program and i had written a book and she asked me would i read an excerpt from it and be part of the program. so i did. when i got down there, president bush said, hey, ronan, don t think for one second you re getting away without singing. and so we became very close and we had a lot of concerts together and a lot of get-togethers at kennebunkport. he was a wonderful man and it was beautifully personified by all the speakers. he was such a wonderful, loyal friend. one time he said to me, he said, you know, you re like my other son. and i didn t know i didn t even know how to answer that.
me and i was blubbering. and bush 43, his dedication, his speech was absolutely stunning. great man, great people. his legacy will always live on. they re a great family. ronan tynan, thank you. we re grateful to ronan, as are all the viewers who heard and listened to what he had to say and to sing in that powerful moment. right now the motorcade with the presidential hearsay is getting closer and coaster to closer. there will be another memorial