Darrel LeJeune / The Basile Weekly
When a president of the United States dies, the entire nation mourns. With the recent passing of President George H.W. Bush, a local Marine veteran watched the national news and the beautiful funeral services with a stronger sense of mourning than most other locals or even most other veterans.
Cpl. David Bertrand had a unique relationship with President Bush.
The Basile native served the final 11 months of his six years of military service as crew chief for Marine Helicopter Squadron One also known as Marine One during the first year of President Bush’s term. As crew chief, his duties were to inspect the president’s helicopter before every flight, open the copter’s door, stand at attention for the president and/or his wife, children, or some other high ranking official to board, close the door, and then climb aboard next to the pilot as an escort. Only a sliding door separated Bertrand from the president and his staff and/or family. Upon arrival, he was tasked with opening the door, standing attention, and assisting the official or officials in disembarking.
Graduating from Basile High School in 1984, Bertrand joined the Marine Corps and served until 1990. In that time, he had duty stations in California, Tennessee, North Carolina, and finally Quantico, Virginia, where he spent four years as part of the Presidential Squadron that took care of Marine One. While he was stationed in Millington, Tennessee, and Jacksonville, North Carolina, he was being trained to work on helicopters, a skill that led him to the Presidential Squadron.
Bertrand said, “I had no idea that this opportunity was in my future. While being trained in Tennessee, I was called in for an interview as a potential candidate for the duty, and I did not even know what Helicopter Marine Squadron One was. At that interview is where I first heard of Marines flying the president.”
After receiving a White House security clearance, he first served three years on support flights until he was selected as one of only four Marines to fly aboard Marine One, itself. At the age of 23, this Basile native was flying around the world with the president of the United States.
Bertrand explained, “Before being chosen for Marine One, I was training on that type of helicopter and was flying other members of the president’s cabinet such as the secretary of state and the vice-president. I was selected by the outgoing Marine One crew chiefs based on experience and knowledge of everything there is to know about the helicopter and all procedures for flying the president. Then there was a formal evaluation by our commanding officer before I was chosen as one of the four new presidential crew chiefs.”
He recalls, “I had many conversations with the president, but most of those were during down time at Camp David. He and his wife always called me by name.”
Bertrand remembers the last flight that he had with President Bush. “He had walked away from the helicopter and was walking to his plane, Air Force One. One of his secret service agents told him it was my last flight so he turned right around and came back to shake my hand and thanked me for what I was doing. That’s the kind of person he was. It really meant a lot to me.”
In expressing his feelings about the death of President Bush, Bertrand said, “I thought then as I do now about him. He was a great leader and an even better man. He and his family always reminded me of my family. Very close. I find myself deeply saddened by his passing. It’s a time of my life I will never forget. It was indeed a tremendous honor to serve my country and to directly serve the president of the United States. Great memories I will never forget.”
Bertrand estimates that he traveled with President Bush 50 or 60 times. In his 12 month stint on Marine One (an additional month was spent with President Reagan before he served under Bush), he went to 48 states as well as Italy, England, Finland, Korea, Australia, Canada, and Mexico. Several of his trips were to Camp David, but his most memorable was to the Vatican where he was able to attend Mass with Pope John Paul II.
Now 52, David lives in the Tepetate area just south of Basile with his wife Dawn, also a Basile High graduate, who spent a year traveling the world, herself, with Up with People.
Bertrand has five children, Jade, Jordan, and Josh, all Basile High School graduates, and Amayah and Ross, presently students at Basile High School.
Bertrand is the son of the late Russell Bertrand and the late Brenda Bertrand, Basile natives and lifelong residents until their respective deaths.