Bush Sr. Plans 85th-Birthday Skydive

Former President George H.W. Bush plans to celebrate his 85th birthday Friday by making a parachute jump in Maine, where he has his summer home. An aide said today that Bush will make a tandem jump with a member of the US Army Golden Knights parachute team. Their landing zone is near a church in Kennebunkport.

Bush made his first jump as a Navy pilot when his plane was shot down over the Pacific during World War II. He also made two jumps apiece on his 75th and 80th birthdays. His most recent jump was in November 2007 at the reopening of his library at Texas A&M University.