KENNEBUNKPORT — A soldier who was badly wounded in Afghanistan proposed to his girlfriend in Maine while former Presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush looked on.

The former presidents and their wives watched as retired Army Spc. Tyler Jeffries proposed to Lauren Lilly at the Bush summer home in Kennebunkport. The elder Bush tweeted his congratulations, wishing them “a lifetime of joy together.”

Jeffries is from Florida. He lost his legs in an explosion in 2012. Two friends helped him drop to a prosthetic knee to propose on Monday.

The wounded veterans invited to Walker’s Point for the proposal were featured in the book “Unbreakable Bonds: The Mighty Moms and Wounded Warriors of Walter Reed.”

George H.W. Bush wrote a foreword to the book.