MR. GORBACHEV, OPEN THIS GATE! MR. GORBACHEV, TEAR DOWN THIS WALL!
Regards, Ivan
Posted on 06/08/2004 5:37:29 PM PDT by MadIvan
RONALD REAGAN is to be buried a few yards from a graffiti-splattered section of the Berlin Wall after an overwhelming display of grief that has already brought 40,000 Americans to pay their respects to his body.
There were three-hour traffic jams on California’s crumbling motorways yesterday — many of the last major investments in the Golden State’s roads came when Mr Reagan was governor — as mourners made 15-hour journeys to pay their respects.
As the outpouring of grief reached almost Dianaesque levels, Wall Street said that it would close on Friday to mark the burial of the “great communicator”.
The Times was given a private tour yesterday of the peaceful rose garden in which the former President will be buried at sunset after a final ceremony at the Presidential Library at Thousand Oaks, California. The oval crypt overlooks the parched and dusty mountains of the Simi Valley, instantly recognisable to anyone who has watched a classic American cowboy film.
Mr Reagan played a major role in ending the Cold War, and only yards from his tomb is a 3ft 6in by 10ft chunk of the Berlin Wall. The former symbol of communist power and the division of Europe weighs 6,000lbs and is surrounded by flowers and a sign giving warning of rattlesnakes.
A plaque says that the section of wall was donated to Mr Reagan in April 1990 by the Berlin Wall Commemorative Group.
The mourners who turned up to yesterday parked at a community college and were bussed to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, which is accessible only by a winding mountain road. Next to it is a press village from where scores of journalists and technicians were filing reports of the event.
After leaving the buses the mourners filed into the rotunda where they spent little more than a minute with the body. Many of them, Democrat and Republican, were in tears as they left the building. Most shuffled past the coffin in silence, cowboy hats and baseball caps doffed. At least one little boy knelt and prayed.
According to the library’s staff, the mourners passed through the rotunda, which features a 10ft bronze statue of a smiling Ronald Reagan with Stetson at its doorway, at a rate of 2,000 an hour.
“He was the greatest man who ever lived,” said Earl Ledebur, 55, a building contractor who had left Sun Valley, California, with his wife at 10pm on Monday to pay his respects.
He finally saw the coffin at 9am on Tuesday after spending five hours of his journey on the motorway. “I want to show my thanks to him for his service to us,” said Mr Ledebur, who was wearing hiking boots and a baseball cap.
Some of the mourners were not only too young to have voted for Mr Reagan, but even to have been alive when he was in office. “I’ve been told a lot of good things about him,” said Timothy Murphy, 14, an African-American high school student. “He’s been an influence on me. The number of people coming here and stuff, I can see the impact he must have had on their lives. It’s touching.”
Even those who did not vote for Mr Reagan turned up to mourn. “I’m a lifelong Democrat,” said Irma Torres, 50, a teaching supervisor from the San Fernando Valley. “For me this is a way of honouring the men and women who died in 9/11 and the servicemen overseas,” she added, trying not to cry. “I want to show my gratitude to a great man.”
John Kerry, the Democratic presidential candidate, also made the journey to California last night to pay his respects.
Parry Havelaar, 44, had brought his entire family, including his grandparents, waiting from 11pm until 4am to get inside the rotunda. “A lot of my friends are Latin Americans and Reagan’s amnesty laws really affected them. They’re very grateful for him allowing them to become American citizens.”
Because of the numbers of mourners visiting Thousand Oaks, Duke Blackwood, executive director of the Presidential Library, said that he would extend the time the coffin was on display by four hours.
“The family is deeply touched by this tremendous outpouring of support and regrets that everyone will not be able to be accommodated,” he said.
Regards, Ivan
Ping!
Pong!
That was a defining moment in history.
Class.
Reagan, even in his passing, is still serving his country and communicating his optimism. This great outpouring is sending a message and renewing the fervor of patriotism and the principles of liberty in many, many people.
Good to see you!
BTTT
Ollie North today on the Tony Snow show said that although the State Department had removed the "Tear down this wall" portion from the written speech, President Reagan added it back after the "Open this gate" line received so much applause. Ollie said that when you watch the speech you will be able to tell this by watching the President as the speech is given.
Very appropriate that there will be a piece of that hated wall next to the man who brought it down.
You're right. I saw the speech on CNN at the time. "Mister Gorbachev, TEAR DOWN THIS WALL!" was all by its lonesome.
LOL! It isn't as bad as all that. Besides, the Ronald Reagan Fwy is one of our newest ones.
...40,000 Americans...
As of last report, over 70,000 people had passed by the casket, with many thousands more still on line. We Calfornians are giving a rousing send off to our favorite son.
...surrounded by flowers and a sign giving warning of rattlesnakes...
Yeah, one of them made its way inside to view the casket today. Name was John Kerry, and he brought his own videographer. (Couldn't resist.)
The article you posted stated "Wall Street said that it would close on Friday to mark the burial of the “great communicator”.
Well, I would like to commend the Governor of the State of Oklahoma, "...I, Brad Henry, Governor of the State of Oklahoma, pursuant to the power vested in me under the provisions of Section 82.1 of Title 25 of the Oklahoma Statutes, hereby declare Friday, June 11, 2004, a holiday and Day of Mourning in the State of Oklahoma. All official business in the State of Oklahoma on Friday, June 11, 2004, shall be suspended while our state and nation mourn the death of President Ronald Reagan, the fortieth President of the United States...."
From his executive order.
The Left will never forgive Reagan for calling the USSR the Evil Empire, they will never forgive him for demanding the Wall come down and they will always despise him for destroying their beloved Soviet Union.
I know you had to meet a deadline, but I feel compelled to correct you, Chris. The total at last count was 75,000. fsf
Now it's 80,000.
I'll never forget how Britain has supported us when others turned their backs on us.
I will never forget seeing him say that...
The sheer magnitude of the respectful outpouring for President Reagan is surely of great comfort to Nancy Reagan and the family in this time of extreme grief.
Our prayers for Nancy Reagan and the family will continue.
This portion of President Reagan's speech is best seen on video. I like the line better when it's quoted in full context:
"General Secretary Gorbachev,
if you seek peace,
if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe,
if you seek liberalization,
come here to this gate.
Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate.
Mr. Gorbachev...(said over wild cheering)
Mr. Gorbachev, tear DOWN this wall."
This is pure, unadulterated bullsnot!! Limey wankers just couldn't help taking a shot at the Yanks, and in the first sentence of an article describing our reverent tribute to a favorite son! Reagan was last Governor of California thirty years ago. The state population has almost doubled since then. There have been billions upon billions of dollars spent on highways in California since then. This is obvious to any schoolchild! How does this get past an editor?
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