THROUGH
MOUNTAIN MISTS
Early Settlers of
Their
Descendants...Their Stories...Their Achievements
Lifting the
Mists of History on Their Way of Life
By: Ethelene Dyer Jones
In Tribute to
Our 40th President, Ronald Wilson Reagan
Regardless
of your political affiliation,
you no doubt were greatly touched, as was I, by the state funeral of
our 40th
president, Ronald Wilson Reagan (1911-2004).
We saw proceedings on live television for almost a week of
tribute,
first in California, then in Washington, DC, and the return to
California for a
sunset service at the Reagan Library. It
was as if we citizens had a front-seat view of the pageantry of a
presidential
funeral. The dignity of the proceedings
made me proud to be an American and renewed my faith in a country he
called “a
shining city on a hill.”
To me, the review of the life and
service of our 40th president brought history into
perspective. Many were asked, “How would
you rate Ronald
Reagan as a president?” Without fail,
most of those asked responded with accolades that enumerated his
greatness.
From humble roots he rose to be
president. Ronald Wilson Reagan was born
in the small town of Tampico, Illinois on February 6, 1911. He had an older brother, Neil.
His parents were Jack and Nelle Reagan. His
father was a shoe salesman who moved
around to small towns in Illinois to keep a job. Jack
Reagan had a major problem with
alcoholism. When Ronald was a boy of
eleven, he came home and found his father on the porch of the Reagan
home. He thought his father had passed out
from
over-imbibing, as indeed he had, but Jack Reagan was dead.
The lad managed to move his father’s body
inside the house and awaited his mother’s return from work. His mother was a seamstress and a Christian
from whom Ronald learned hard work, the Bible and a desire to do
something
worthwhile with his life. He was
able
to get a scholarship to Eureka College in Illinois where he graduated
in 1932.
His career prior to entering politics
included radio announcer from 1932-1937 and Hollywood film actor from
1937-1954. Perhaps his most notable role
was that of George Gipp, star half-back
in the film about Notre Dame’s great
football coach, “Knute Rockne, All-American” in 1940.
This role gave him the nickname, “The
Gipper.” He starred in some 50 films
and served as president of the Screen Actors’ Guild where his love of
persuasion and politics were nourished.
He was host and acted in the General
Electric Theater, a TV production, from 1954-1962.
He was married from 1940 through 1949 to Jane
Wyman, actress. Children from that
marriage were Maureen (died of cancer, 2001), Michael and Christine
(born
prematurely and lived one day, 1947).
On March 4, 1952, he married actress
Nancy Davis. Their children were Patti
(b. 1952) and Ronald (b. 1958). It was
Nancy who was to become the beloved first lady of California and the
first lady
of America, standing by her beloved “Ronnie” through years of public
service
and his last decade as he was afflicted with Alzheimer’s.
In November, 1980, he was elected
president of the United States over incumbent Jimmy Carter, receiving
51.5% of
the popular vote. At his first
inauguration January 20, 1981, the Iranian hostages were released. In his first term, he was shot in an
assassination attempt on March 30, 1981.
On July 7, 1981, he appointed Sandra Day O’Connor of Arizona to
be the
first female justice in the US Supreme Court.
She participated in his funeral, by his prearranged request,
reading a
portion of a sermon by Colonial preacher John Winthrop from which came
Reagan’s
term for America, “a shining city upon a hill.”
During his first term, the infamous
strike by over 11,000 air traffic controllers ended with them being
fired by
the president Terrorism was evident in the October 23, 1983 suicide
truck-bombing in Lebanon when 241 U. S. Marines lost their lives. Two days later, U. S. troops were sent to the
island of Grenada to tackle a leftist coup there.
He was reelected on November 6, 1983
to his second term, winning over former Vice President Walter Mondale
with
almost 60% of the popular vote.
Using
hard-nosed tactics in dealings with Russia, he called it “an evil
empire.” His Strategic Defense Initiative
(SDI) was
often termed “Star Wars,” but led to the eventual demise of the Russian
Communist Regime and the end of the Cold War.
His dealings in summit conferences with Russian leader Gorbachev
led to
the arms agreement, the breakup of the USSR, and later the removal of
the
Berlin Wall. He stood boldly near the
end of his presidency at the Brandenburg Gate and said:
“Come here to this gate, Mr. Gorbachev, open
this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this
wall!” Two years later, the wall came
down. A portion of that wall is now at
the Reagan Memorial Library in Simi Valley, California.
Blights on his second term were the
Iran-Contra deal in which Oliver North was dismissed and arms went to
the
Nicaraguan rebels in exchange for hostages held by Iran.
Reagan later apologized, stating the action
was a “grave mistake.” Sweeping tax cuts
initiated by President Reagan were popular with citizens but led
eventually to
the largest budget deficit in the history of the nation when he stepped
down at
the end of his second term.
Seeking to summarize the worth of
Ronald Wilson Reagan as a president, many have seen him as a leader of
integrity, honesty and faith and one who restored America’s belief in
itself. “Morning in America” was one of
his famous mottoes. He saw the nation as
“a shining city on a hill.” Dinesh D’Souza
became senior domestic policy analyst on President Reagan’s staff. His book about the president has sold
over
200,000 copies. In it he praises Reagan
for giving the American people the opportunity to live their lives. D’Souza states: “I
think all of us can learn from Reagan’s
confident leadership. His unshakeable
faith in closely held principles, his vision of a better tomorrow, and
his
belief in the worth of every human being should inspire us all.”
I watched the proceedings of the state
funeral with interest and respect. Since
the funeral, I have accessed various websites with Reagan eulogies and
tributes. At the website
http://rememberedbyus.com/Ronald Reagan, I found that those who wish to
send a
personal message about our 40th president can do so, and
light a
candle in his memory. This is what I
wrote: “For the period when President
Ronald Reagan served our country, we did not always realize the
magnitude of his
zeal, his spirit and his service. Now,
in retrospect, we see that he was a great president and one who
restored faith
in America and in freedom. May we hold
to his ideals and persist in making
[Ethelene Dyer
Jones is a retired educator,
freelance writer, poet, and historian. She may be reached at
e-mail edj0513@windstream.net;
phone 478-453-8751; or
mail 1708 Cedarwood Road, Milledgeville, GA 31061-2411.]