“From Sea to Shining Sea”
Once again you have stepped up to the plate and given this country what it so desperately needed -- Hope.
This week our nation displayed one of the most beautiful tributes I've ever had the honor of witnessing or ever will again. Everyone, young and old, pre-Reagan and post-Reagan, came together to pay tribute to a man who lived his life as it should be lived -- to the fullest and to the best of his ability.
We realize that you made some mistakes along the way -- nobody's perfect -- but your amazing ability to resist the pitfalls of self-defense and self-pity allowed you to maintain a steady and true course. You not only raised yourself above the negativity of doom and gloom, but a whole nation. You inspired others to see the future as it could be, not as it is, and in doing so brought forth those people who could make that future a possibility.
This week, your final journey has litterally taken you from Sea to Shining Sea, and we've had the honor and privilege of travelling with you. I'm very proud of our Military. What an excellent job they did -- in the scorching heat or pouring rain. Thank you for your dedication and committment. You too have helped to bring a sense of pride and patriotism back into the lives of many who have been feeling the oppression of the negative news media coverage of the past few months. Yes, I admit, even they did a good job over the past few days. Thank you.
I salute you Mr. President. You've had one heck of a ride and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for allowing us to be a part of it. Now, it's up to us to carry the torch and win the battle for the Gipper!
“The United States remains the last best hope for a mankind plagued by tyranny and deprivation. America is no stronger than its people - and that means you and me. Well, I believe in you, and I believe that if we work together then one day we will say, ‘We fought the good fight. We finished the race We kept the faith.’ And to our children and our children's children we can say, ‘We did all that could be done in the brief time that was given to us here on earth.’ ”
--Ronald Reagan
EULOGIES
Friday, June 11, 2004: The National Cathedral, Washington, D.C.
Eulogy by Former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney
Eulogy by George Herbert Walker Bush
Reagan's Vice-President
President (George Walker) Bush's Eulogy
Homily by Former Senator John Danforth
Former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's Eulogy of Reagan
From Sea to Shining Sea: The Final Journey
