HAPPY BIRTHDAY RONALD REAGAN!!!! February 6

[gipper81]

A couple of weeks ago I bought "A Life In Letters."

His letters are to others, of course, but you feel like he is talking to you as well. He still is amazing.

God Bless you President Reagan.

[Arpege92]

Nice Dawg House....what year is it?

[jern]

Remarks at the Normandy Invasion Ceremony Omaha Beach Memorial at Omaha Beach, France. June 6, 1984

President Reagan addressed an audience at the United States-France Ceremony Commemorating the 40th Anniversary of the Normandy Invasion, D-Day.

1,031 words Mr. President, distinguished guests, we stand today at a place of battle, one that 40 years ago saw and felt the worst of war. Men bled and died here for a few feet of--or inches of sand, as bullets and shellfire cut through their ranks. About them, General Omar Bradley later said, "Every man who set foot on Omaha Beach that day was a hero."

No speech can adequately portray their suffering, their sacrifice, their heroism. President Lincoln once reminded us that through their deeds, the dead of battle have spoken more eloquently for themselves than any of the living ever could. But we can only honor them by rededicating ourselves to the cause for which they gave a last full measure of devotion.

Today we do rededicate ourselves to that cause. And at this place of honor, we're humbled by the realization of how much so many gave to the cause of freedom and to their fellow man.

Some who survived the battle of June 6, 1944, are here today. Others who hoped to return never did.

"Someday, Lis, I'll go back," said Private First Class Peter Robert Zanatta, of the 37th Engineer Combat Battalion, and first assault wave to hit Omaha Beach. "I'll go back, and I'll see it all again. I'll see the beach, the barricades, and the graves."

Those words of Private Zanatta come to us from his daughter, Lisa Zanatta Henn, in a heartrending story about the event her father spoke of so often. "In his words, the Normandy invasion would change his life forever," she said. She tells some of his stories of World War II but says of her father, "the story to end all stories was D-Day."

"He made me feel the fear of being on that boat waiting to land. I can smell the ocean and feel the seasickness. I can see the looks on his fellow soldiers' faces--the fear, the anguish, the uncertainty of what lay ahead. And when they landed, I can feel the strength and courage of the men who took those first steps through the tide to what must have surely looked like instant death."

Private Zanatta's daughter wrote to me: "I don't know how or why I can feel this emptiness, this fear, or this determination, but I do. Maybe it's the bond I had with my father. All I know is that it brings tears to my eyes to think about my father as a 20-year-old boy having to face that beach."

The anniversary of D-Day was always special for her family. And like all the families of those who went to war, she describes how she came to realize her own father's survival was a miracle: "So many men died. I know that my father watched many of his friends be killed. I know that he must have died inside a little each time. But his explanation to me was, 'You did what you had to do, and you kept on going.'"

When men like Private Zanatta and all our Allied forces stormed the beaches of Normandy 40 years ago they came not as conquerors, but as liberators. When these troops swept across the French countryside and into the forests of Belgium and Luxembourg they came not to take, but to return what had been wrongly seized. When our forces marched into Germany they came not to prey on a brave and defeated people, but to nurture the seeds of democracy among those who yearned to be free again.

We salute them today. But, Mr. President, we also salute those who, like yourself, were already engaging the enemy inside your beloved country--the French Resistance. Your valiant struggle for France did so much to cripple the enemy and spur the advance of the armies of liberation. The French Forces of the Interior will forever personify courage and national spirit. They will be a timeless inspiration to all who are free and to all who would be free.

Today, in their memory, and for all who fought here, we celebrate the triumph of democracy. We reaffirm the unity of democratic peoples who fought a war and then joined with the vanquished in a firm resolve to keep the peace.

From a terrible war we learned that unity made us invincible; now, in peace, that same unity makes us secure. We sought to bring all freedom-loving nations together in a community dedicated to the defense and preservation of our sacred values. Our alliance, forged in the crucible of war, tempered and shaped by the realities of the postwar world, has succeeded. In Europe, the threat has been contained, the peace has been kept.

Today the living here assembled--officials, veterans, citizens--are a tribute to what was achieved here 40 years ago. This land is secure. We are free. These things are worth fighting and dying for.

Lisa Zanatta Henn began her story by quoting her father, who promised that he would return to Normandy. She ended with a promise to her father, who died eight years ago of cancer: "I'm going there, Dad, and I'll see the beaches and the barricades and the monuments. I'll see the graves, and I'll put flowers there just like you wanted to do. I'll feel all the things you made me feel through your stories and your eyes. I'll never forget what you went through, Dad, nor will I let anyone else forget. And, Dad, I'll always be proud."

Through the words of his loving daughter, who is here with us today, a D-Day veteran has shown us the meaning of this day far better than any President can. It is enough for us to say about Private Zanatta and all the men of honor and courage who fought beside him four decades ago: We will always remember. We will always be proud. We will always be prepared, so we may always be free.

Thank you.

Note: The President spoke at 4:33 p.m. at the Omaha Beach Memorial at Omaho Beach, France. In his opening remarks, he referred to President Francois Mitterrand of France. Following the ceremony, President Reagan traveled to Utah Beach. BACK TO SPEECHES

[Huck]

1978 Toyota.

[dasein64]

Happy birthday to a great American. His speeches are as inspirational today as when he first gave them. His love of country permeated his presidency. My respect for him grows with the years. God bless Ronald Reagan.

[Arpege92]

I bet you can store a whole bunch of fish in that! I hope me and my hubby can one day buy one of those and travel around the country.

[kittymyrib]

He was born in 1911 so he'll be 93...and to think the dems all called him too old to run in 1980!!! Fortunately, God had other plans.
My 33 yr. old son and I have a pact that when that great president is called home, we will travel from our homes in Texas to go stand in the street in CA to pay homage. He was just 6 in 1976 when the Republicans broke our hearts by choosing Ford after we had worked long hours at Reagan campaign headquarters. He was 10 in 1980, and savored the victory after working very hard for Pres. Reagan. He is still very into politics, thanks to these formative experiences...something you parents might think about this year.

[bannie]

I love that first picture.

I love that man.

[gooleyman]

I miss him. A LOT!! Some years back, there was a special on PBS about him and I couldn't even bring myself to watch it because it was during the Clintoon years and I just couldn't stand it.

Even though my Grandfather never would have voted for him (he was a staunch Roosevelt Democrat) Reagan reminds me of him, not in looks of course, but in his manerisms, wit and wisdom. I miss them both.

If we had done what Reagan said back in his first term concerning the budget and regulations, we wouldn't be in the pickle we're in today.

Let's win another one for the Gipper. Happy Birthday Ronnie!!!!

[Huck]

LOL. This one's definitely not outfitted for cross country travel. I'm not sure what I am gonna do with it. I am a corporate director. I want to get out of it and work for myself doing something I like. I thought I might like a hot dog stand.

Obviously, I am not trying to get rich. But my job is paying me well, so the truck is a slow moving, back burner project. In the end, I may just sell it. I bought it for $3,200, and I believe I can turn a profit on that. I think I could get $5,000. Or, maybe my father-in-law would like to operate it and retire from heating and cooling.

My wife and I share your dream of travelling the land in an RV. We want to pay off our house in 10 years or so and make it happen. All goes well.

[NeoCaveman]

Happy Birthday Mr. President
Quite possibly the greatest ever
Thanks for winning the cold war,
For cutting taxes,
And for making America great again.

[MiniCooperChick]

Oh, I love that man!

He literally saved our country.

My sister named her daughter after him. I'm jealous she thought of it first!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MR. PRESIDENT!

[Arpege92]

Ronald Reagan is definately a role model. Like your son, I too was ten in 1980 and I will never forget the way Ronald Reagan was able to bring pride back into the hearts of American people.

[Arpege92]

Paying off our house and getting our son through college has to be first.....after that, road here we come!

[KangarooJacqui]

I'm bookmarking this thread if for no other reason than that wonderful speech, which I only scanned just now, but would like to savour time and time again.

Happy Birthday, Ronald Reagan. The first American President I clearly remember... a salute from a youngster Down Under!

[Free ThinkerNY]

"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, tear down this wall!"

President Ronald Reagan’s Berlin Wall Speech June 12, 1987

[Eala]

I miss Ronald Reagan...

[Reaganwuzthebest]

A happy birthday bump to the greatest president of the 20th century.

[CityOnAHill]

I've spoken of the shining city all my political life, but I don't know if I ever quite communicated what I saw when I said it. But in my mind it was a tall proud city built on rocks stronger than oceans, wind-swept, God-blessed, and teeming with people of all kinds living in harmony and peace, a city with free ports that hummed with commerce and creativity, and if there had to be city walls, the walls had doors and the doors were open to anyone with the will and the heart to get here. That's how I saw it and see it still.

And how stands the city on this winter night? More prosperous, more secure, and happier than it was eight years ago. But more than that; after 200 years, two centuries, she still stands strong and true on the granite ridge, and her glow has held steady no matter what storm. And she's still a beacon, still a magnet for all who must have freedom, for all the pilgrims from all the lost places who are hurtling through the darkness, toward home.

We've done our part. And as I walk off into the city streets, a final word to the men and women of the Reagan revolution, the men and women across America who for eight years did the work that brought America back. My friends: We did it. We weren't just marking time. We made a difference. We made the city stronger. We made the city freer, and we left her in good hands. All in all, not bad, not bad at all.

This was a great ending of a great speech of a great presidency. And it's where I took my Freeper name from...

[ConservativeMan55]

Listen LIVE!