a mission that nearly resulted in a future president being eaten alive on the 2nd of September 1944 Lieutenant Junior grade George HW Bush embarked On A Dangerous Mission over Chichi Jima a Japanese held island in the Pacific as he Dove towards his Target a Japanese radio transmitter enemy fire struck his plane forcing him to order his crew to bail out Bush was the only one to escape Landing in the ocean and clinging to a life raft as Japanese boats approached miraculously American planes provided cover driving the enemy away until a US submarine the finback surfaced beside him Bush was rescued after four harrowing hours in the water while eight of his fellow Airmen captured by the Japanese would be tortured and shockingly even cannibalized by their captors