He Vows U.S. Won’t Fall Prey to Unpreparedness Again : End of WWII Commemorated by Bush

Vice President George Bush, a decorated veteran of the war in the Pacific with Japan, led the nation Wednesday in commemorating the end of World War II with a pledge that America will “never fall prey to complacency and unpreparedness again.”

Speaking on the flight deck of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Enterprise anchored in San Francisco Bay, Bush, who as a Navy pilot was shot down by the Japanese in World War II, officially marked the 40th anniversary of V-J Day by casting over the side of the huge carrier a red, white and blue wreath to honor those who died in the war.

Seconds later, Air Force jets, in the traditional missing man formation, roared over the Enterprise, the battleship New Jersey and an armada of smaller Navy ships with one plane peeling off as the flight flew over the Golden Gate Bridge and the Pacific Ocean beyond.

Lack of Military Strength

Bush, in his remarks aboard the Enterprise, which rolled at anchor in the choppy bay under sunny skies, referred to America’s lack of military strength prior to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

“Many brave Americans paid dearly for the folly of those who stuck their heads in the sand instead of facing the realities of an increasingly dangerous world and the rising power of aggressive, totalitarian regimes,” he said.

“Let us on this day of remembrance pledge that we as a nation will never fall prey to complacency and unpreparedness again,” the vice president added.

“Today, the peace and prosperity of the Pacific stands as a monument to those who gave their lives four decades ago,” Bush said. “We must remember the lessons of history and keep a watchful eye on the growing military power of a nearby totalitarian regime,” he said.

Current Trade Problems

In his speech to 3,000 invited guests aboard the carrier--including the 86-year-old widow of General of the Army Douglas MacArthur--Bush alluded to current trade problems between the two old Pacific enemies.

“The challenge today for both the United States and Japan is to ensure that the mutually beneficial character of our trade relationship continues and that free trade and open markets are the order of the day on both sides of the Pacific,” he said.

The shipboard ceremony ended more than a year of 40th anniversary remembrances that began with Reagan’s appearances in June, 1984, on the Normandy beaches that were the scene of the D-Day invasion.

Unlike the German participation in Reagan’s VE-Day celebrations in Europe earlier this year, there was no Japanese participation in Wednesday’s events.

Picked Up by Submarine

Bush, who received the Distinguished Flying Cross as a pilot of a torpedo bomber plane, was shot down on Sept. 2, 1944, in a raid on a Japanese radio station on Chichi Jima Island. Two of his crew died, but Bush was picked up by an American submarine.

While Bush spoke aboard the Enterprise, hundreds of people gathered at a “Peace in the Pacific” celebration on nearby Crissy Island, where spectators could view the armada of Navy ships in the bay.

At Crissy Island eight persons were arrested when they attempted to unfurl banners calling for a nuclear weapons freeze and interrupt a speech by a retired Army general, according to an Army spokesman at the Presidio. They were cited for trespassing and disturbing the peace, the spokesman said.

After the ceremonies aboard the Enterprise, Bush and his wife, Barbara, flew to Point Mugu Naval Air Station and then flew by helicopter to President Reagan’s ranch near Santa Barbara.

White House spokesman Larry Speakes said the President and Bush discussed a number of items on the Administration’s fall agenda, including international trade issues and trade legislation pending in Congress. The Bushes stayed for about an hour at the ranch and then departed for their own vacation retreat at Kennebunkport, Me.