When President Reagan left office in January 1989, no one could be sure if his policies had succeeded. But before the year was out, the Berlin Wall came down. A three-ton section of the wall was sent to Reagan as a gift. It stands today at his presidential library in California.
Mikhail Gorbachev’s effort to change Soviet Communism did not succeed. By the end of 1991, the Soviet Union had broken apart. It was no longer one nation. Ronald Reagan had done his part to help bring the Cold War to a peaceful end. He was firm when he needed to be and flexible when there was hope for change.
The Reagans returned to their home in California. They spent as much time as possible at their ranch north of Los Angeles. In 1994 Ronald Reagan learned that he had Alzheimer’s disease. He was eighty-three at the time. His mother Nelle had died of the same disease, so Reagan knew what was in store for him. Little by little, his memory would fail. In time, he wouldn’t even recognize his own children. Even Nancy would become a stranger. He would forget that he had been president.
When he got the bad news, Reagan wrote a farewell letter to the American people. He hoped that by telling people about his disease, he would inspire them to learn about Alzheimer’s and work to find a cure. He thanked the country for letting him serve as president. “When the Lord calls me home, whenever that may be, I will leave with the greatest love for this country of ours, and eternal optimism for its future.”
Ronald Reagan lived another ten years, cared for by Nancy. Terrible as his illness was, it helped bring his family together.
When he died in June 2004, Reagan was given a state funeral in Washington, D.C. His casket was carried to the Capitol building on a horse-drawn caisson—a kind of wagon once used to carry the bodies of soldiers who died in battle. A riderless horse walked nearby, with Reagan’s riding boots turned backward in the stirrups. Since the days of ancient Rome, the riderless horse has been a symbol of a departed hero.
A military honor guard carried Reagan’s casket up the steps of the Capitol building. People of all ages stood in the hot sun for hours, waiting to pay their respects. In thirty-four hours, more than one hundred thousand people passed by. World leaders came to say farewell. At the end of the viewing, Nancy approached the casket and gently touched the American flag that covered it.
Afterward, Nancy returned with her husband’s body to California. Crowds lined the highways leading to the Reagan library, where he was to be buried. Some people saluted. Others waved tearful good-byes.
Ronald Reagan had lived to be ninety-three, longer than any other president. |