Remembering Ronald Reagan

I think Ronald Reagan is the greatest president so far in my lifetime. He stuck to his principles. If he had lived during the time of men like Washington, Jefferson, Hamilton, et al, at the founding of our nation, I have no doubt he would have ranked among them.

In his presidency, he knew what he wanted to do and accomplished his goals - cut taxes across the board to rejuvenate the economy, rebuild the American military, and defeat the Soviet Union in the Cold War. Going three for three is pretty good in my book.

Ronald Reagan - a giant of a man. We may not see another president of his stature during my remaining years on earth.

 

Don't forget restoring national pride. I was active duty USAF from 1971-92, and when Carter was in, we knew he hated the miltary--we could not even get spare parts. Desert One was a disaster because the aircraft had not been properly maintained (lack of training, personnel, and parts) and because the units had not had the money to train together.

When Reagan was in, we had what we needed, and we knew we had a Quarterback!

 

I can testify in the same way concerning military (aviation) service in the Clinton era.

 

We have missed him these 10 years that he was afflicted, now the floodgates of emotion have been opened.

Until we meet again in that Shining City, farewell Mr. President.

HankD

 

Here is a great editoral from a guy who considers Reagan second only to Washington in greatness:

http://www.opinioneditorials.com/contributors/glandrith_20040609.html

Not far off I would say.

 

I loved Reagan and agree that he was the greatest president of my life time. He is the only one who seemed to be actually larger than the office.

Had the Democrats kept their budget deals with him, we would have greatly reduced or perhaps even retired the national debt by now. Sadly, they rooked him. He compromised to get military spending and tax cuts in exchange for Dem promises of later domestic cuts.

His part of the plan of course worked. His tax cuts, reduction of regulations, and privatization efforts resulted in huge tax revenue increases. Unfortunately, for every $1 in increased revenue the Democrat dominated Congress spent $2.

 

Ronald Reagan came into office at a time when American needed a hero to look up to and to lead us out of the mess from the previous administration. He restored the honor to the office of President and to the country.

I am grateful that I had a very small part in that because I was fortunate enough to have voted twice for him. I've never been more pleased with my voting efforts than I am with those two.

 

When I saw the shots of Baroness Thatcher at the casket I thought of this quote in the dedication of her brilliant book - "Statecraft"

"This book is dedicated to Ronald Reagan. To whom the world owes so much."

 

I fondly remember President Reagan as the governor of my home state--CALIFORNIA. We were so glad to have him as our governor. When we found that he was running for President we couldn't have been more proud.

Then the day came I could see him in person. The place was Bob Jones University in Greenville, SC. He made a campaign stop at BJU in January of 1980. What an exciting day on campus. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be right down front where I could see his every facial expression. We were riveted by his speech and once again felt the early twinges of what it meant to be PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN! We also saw what touched his heart--the individual life. He concluded the speech at BJU with the touching story of a commanding officer aboard a WWII plane doomed to crash. The commander ordered everyone out of the plane. It was quickly learned that the ball turret gunner could not get out of the turret.The commander made the decision to stay with his gunner. He could even reach the scared gunner's hand. He simply said to the young man, "It's OK, son, we'll ride this down together." Reagan concluded with these words about the commander..."congressional medal of armor awarded posthumously."

The point? The Great Communicator was able to share his heart with us through the stories he told. That made us all feel close to his heart. Through the stories we understood. Through the stories got it!

Yes, I will never forget that day at BJU--a day that Dr. Bob Jones III called a "red letter day" for Bob Jones Univerisity. Indeed it was!

Farewell, my brother. I look forward to walking those streets of gold with you and personally thanking you for inspiring all of us toward being those bright lights for the good of our fellow man and for restoring pride and patriotism to America.

Nancy and family--you are in our prayers. Nancy, your grace over the last few days has been phenomenal. We are so proud of you! To slightly vary what President Bush said, "you (both) are treasure(s) to America!"

 

I did not see all the services but former President Bush gave a most touching speech and I really appreciate Margaret Thatcher's words.

I was a teenager when Ronald Reagan was President. He was the first person I ever voted for President. Many of my generation (I will be 40 in a couple of weeks) remember the dark days of the 70's when our hostages were held in Iran and the threat of the Soviet Union hung over our heads as Marxism was spreading in South and Central America and Communism in Afghanistan and all of Eastern Europe was controlled by the Warsaw Pact and the possibilty of Western Europe being invaded was a real threat.

Ronald Reagan came on the scene and gave us hope and his optimism was a comfort to us who had lost hope in America. When Ronald Reagan referred to the Soviet Union in the 1980’s as the Evil empire, he was savaged by the media and others. How dare he use such a term. The fact was that Communism was a evil philosophy that enslaved people and Reagan knew it. Reagan Reagan is to me one of the greatest men in American history and World history for that matter. How many millions are free today from Communism becauase of Ronald Reagan, the great Liberator. God bless his family!

 

Kif--isn't ironic that Gorby was so present at nearly all the Reagan events of this past week? Hmmm...was this one of the greatest VISUAL vindications of Reagan, or what?! Pretty awesome, IMHO.

 

I was 17 when President Reagan took office in 1981 and I immediately felt a bond with him. I think a lot had to do with his age and the fact that he resembled my own grandfather, but for some reason, I knew he had a good soul and he was going to be what the country needed.

I served under President Reagan in the US Army from 1983 to 1988. Those were some of the best times of the life. He loved us, and we loved him, we was proud of us, and we of him.

I took part in President Reagan's campaign to rid Central America from the grips of Communism and I can say first hand that if it weren't for President Reagan and the hand of God, Soviet troops would be parked at our southern border as I write this. Most Americans don't realize what was happening down there. It wasn't just about quelling a civil war, it was about stopping the Soviet Union and their Army of Darkness from marching right up to Texas.

God gave us President Reagan. He was a faithful servant of God, in the same line of Washington and Lincoln.

I can't wait to see him in Heaven.