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Bush celebrates 85th by skydiving over Maine
(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-06-13 10:41

Bush celebrates 85th by skydiving over Maine

In this photo provided by Army Golden Knights, former President George H. W. Bush, bottom, rides tandem with Sgt. Michael Elliott of the Army Golden Knights parachute team as he celebrates his 85th birthday with a parachute jump, Friday, June 12, 2009, in Kennebunkport, Maine. [Agencies] Bush celebrates 85th by skydiving over Maine

Bush's first parachute jump came when his plane was shot down over the Pacific in 1944 during World War II. He bailed out at 1,500 feet after a bombing mission over ChiChi Jima. His two crewmates didn't make it.

In 1997, Bush fulfilled a wartime promise he made to himself that someday he'd jump from a plane for fun by hopping out over Yuma, Ariz., and he jumped again on his 75th birthday at his library in Texas.

His days of solo parachuting ended at age 80 when bad weather forced him to scrap his plan to go alone. He made not one but two tandem jumps in Texas.

The skydiving jump marked Bush's seventh parachute leap from an airplane. His last jump was in November 2007, also with Elliott, at the reopening of his presidential library at Texas A&M University. He made that jump unannounced after hip replacement surgery.

Joining Bush on Friday was anchor Robin Meade from HLN, the cable network formerly known as Headline News. Meade also made a tandem jump with the Golden Knights.

Nancy Brindle, who works at Patten's farm stand in Kennebunkport, said she's surprised at the number of local residents who are concerned about Bush's safety but she wasn't worried.

"It's so much fun to live in Kennebunkport and be part of the excitement," she said. "It's a pleasure to be part of it all. It far outweighs any inconveniences."

Former First Lady Barbara Bush doesn't object to her octogenarian husband's fascination with skydiving.

"She is fine with it, particularly now that he does tandem jumps. She has so much trust and faith in the Golden Knights that she's fine with it," said Jean Becker, Bush's chief of staff.

Dr. Tom Perls, director of the New England Centenarian Study, applauded Bush for serving as an example to others — especially seniors — to stay active.

"For Mr. Bush to have this attitude of, you know, carpe diem, really is spot on. Clearly age is not stopping him from doing something that he thinks is really fun, and thrilling," said Perls, a professor at Boston University. "Age, the number, should never stop somebody."