So Roger Wilkins says at every possible opportunity.
I haven't been able to find any reliable independent confirmation that Reagan actually said it.
I did find out that Davis, like Lincoln, was active in Reagan's native north central Illinois during the Black Hawk War, and a "Jefferson Davis" character appears in The Santa Fe Trail along with Reagan and Errol Flynn. Nancy's maiden name was Davis as well.
There are different versions, too. Wilkins has Reagan making the quote at a large rally at Stone Mountain, "where the Ku Klux Klan used to burn its crosses," while others who cite the supposed quote have Reagan making the comment "before a crowd" in Atlanta.
I'm not saying that Reagan definitely didn't say that Jefferson Davis was one of his heroes. But it's strange that only a few people have the memory, and that the sources aren't the most reliable. They tend to be blog and e-mail idiots who pass on whatever comes across their screens.
For me, for now, it looks more like an urban myth, than a fact. But if Reagan did say it it's still not clear what he may have meant. "A hero of mine" or "a hero for me" isn't necessarily a hero for the whole country. Even Benedict Arnold's leg is an acknowledged American hero with its own monument.
