• This combination of images provided by the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum, in College Station, Texas, shows a love letter, dated Dec. 12, 1943, to Barbara Bush from then-fiance, George H.W. Bush. The letter circulated after Barbara Bush's death Tuesday, April 17, 2018, at age 92. The future president wrote the letter when he was awaiting deployment while serving in the Navy during World War II. (George Bush Presidential Library and Museum via AP) Photo: AP / George Bush Presidential Library and Museum
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This combination of images provided by the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum, in College Station, Texas, shows a love letter, dated Dec. 12, 1943, to Barbara Bush from then-fiance, George H.W. Bush. The letter circulated after Barbara Bush's death Tuesday, April 17, 2018, at age 92. The future president wrote the letter when he was awaiting deployment while serving in the Navy during World War II. (George Bush Presidential Library and Museum via AP) less
This combination of images provided by the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum, in College Station, Texas, shows a love letter, dated Dec. 12, 1943, to Barbara Bush from then-fiance, George H.W. ... more
Photo: AP

HOUSTON (AP) — A love letter George H.W. Bush wrote to then-fiance Barbara Pierce offers a glimpse into the couple's relationship when Bush was serving in the Navy during World War II.

The handwritten letter is getting attention with the death of Barbara Bush on Tuesday at age 92. The future president wrote the letter in December 1943 while awaiting deployment. He addressed it: "My darling Bar."

George Bush said he was "desperately happy" to see their engagement announcement in the newspaper. He professed his love and wrote, "How lucky our children will be to have a mother like you."

The couple married in 1945, four months after Bush was shot down over the Pacific.

The letter is kept at the George H.W. Bush Library and Museum in Texas.