On June 5, 2004, Ronald Reagan, the 40th president of the United States and the 33rd governor of California, died after having Alzheimer's disease for a decade, diagnosed in 1994. Reagan was the first former U.S. president to die in 10 years since Richard Nixon in 1994. At the age of , Reagan was the longest-lived U.S. president in history at the time of his death, a record which has since been surpassed by Gerald Ford, George H. W. Bush, and Jimmy Carter. His seven-day state funeral followed. After Reagan's death, his body was taken from his Bel Air home to the Kingsley and Gates Funeral Home in Santa Monica, California, to prepare the body for burial. On June 7, Reagan's casket was transported by hearse and displayed at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, then flown to Washington, D.C., on June 9 for a service, public viewing and tributes at the U.S. Capitol.
After lying in state for 34 hours in the Capitol rotunda, a state funeral service was conducted at Washington National Cathedral on June 11, the day when President George W. Bush declared a national day of mourning. Later that day, after the service, Reagan's casket was transported back to California for interment at the Reagan Presidential Library. The state funeral was executed by the Military District of Washington (MDW).
Reagan was the first former U.S. president to die during the presidency of George W. Bush and the first to die in the twenty-first century, followed by Gerald Ford, George H. W. Bush, and Jimmy Carter.
Death On the morning of June 5, 2004, there were reports that Reagan's health had significantly deteriorated, following ten years of Alzheimer's disease. According to Reagan's daughter, Patti Davis, "At the last moment, when his breathing told us this was it, he opened his eyes and looked straight at my mother. Eyes that hadn't opened for days did, and they weren't chalky or vague. They were clear and blue and full of love. If a death can be lovely, his was". His wife, former first lady Nancy Reagan told him that the moment was "the greatest gift you could have given me." He died of pneumonia at his home, 668 St. Cloud Road, in the Bel-Air district of Los Angeles, at 1:09 PM PDT, at the age of 93.
President George W. Bush was in Paris when Reagan died and acknowledged the death in a press conference.
Bush's competitor for the 2004 presidential election, the Democratic nominee John Kerry, also commented on Reagan's death, saying "He was our oldest president . . . but he made America young again."
Various U.S. flags at the White House, across the United States, and around the world over official U.S. installations and operating locations, were ordered to be flown at half-staff for 30 days in a presidential proclamation by President Bush.George W. Bush, "Announcing the death of Ronald Reagan". Press release, Office of the Press Secretary, June 6, 2004.George W. Bush,"Returning the Flag of the United States to Full-Staff" Press release, Office of the Press Secretary, July 2, 2004. In the announcement of Reagan's death, Bush also declared June 11 as a National Day of Mourning.
Some of the early international tributes to Reagan included those of Queen Elizabeth II, former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher, former Soviet Union Leader Mikhail Gorbachev (also attending the funeral), British prime minister Tony Blair, former Canadian prime ministers Brian Mulroney and Paul Martin, and French president Jacques Chirac. Martin advised Governor General Adrienne Clarkson to order all flags across Canada and at all Canadian diplomatic missions in the United States flown to half-staff on the 11th as well, in sympathy with the U.S.'s National Day of Mourning. In Germany, Chancellor Gerhard Schröder ordered German flags flown at half-staff above government buildings on the 11th as well.
Tributes and condolences were left at U.S. embassies and consulates overseas, as well as at places around the country significant to Reagan's life, including his presidential library, his birthplace in Tampico, Illinois, the funeral home where his body was taken after he died, and the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity house in Eureka, Illinois. The electronic signs at the Massachusetts Turnpike flashed the message "God Speed President Reagan."
After Reagan's death, campaigning for the ongoing 2004 United States elections was considered disrespectful during a time of mourning, and was suspended. The 2004 Canadian federal election was also to be held; prime minister and Liberal Party leader Paul Martin, Opposition Leader and Conservative Party leader Stephen Harper, and New Democratic Party Leader Jack Layton suspended their campaigns, citing respect for Reagan.
Funeral events
Reagan Library
On June 7, Reagan's body was removed from the funeral home and driven in a 20-mile-per-hour (32 km/h) motorcade, by hearse, to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley."Thousands pay respect to Reagan in California". CTV News, June 8, 2004. Retrieved 2008-03-09
Reagan's remains were presented in a Marsellus Masterpiece model purchased from a funeral home in Alhambra. It was carried by a military honor guard representing all branches of the United States Armed Forces into the lobby of the library to lie in repose. There, a brief family service was conducted by the Reverend Dr. Michael H. Wenning, former pastor of Bel Air Church, where Reagan worshipped. When the prayer service concluded, Nancy Reagan and her family approached the casket, where Nancy laid her head on it. After the family left, the doors of the presidential library opened, and the public began filing in at a rate of 2,000 an hour throughout the night. In all, about 108,000 people visited the presidential library to see the casket.
Departure to Washington On June 9, Reagan's casket was removed from the presidential library and driven in a motorcade to NAS Point Mugu in Oxnard, California; it was the same airfield Reagan flew into and out of during his presidency when visiting his California ranch. SAM 28000, one of the two Boeing 747-200s, which usually serves the president as Air Force One, arrived to transport the casket to Washington. Thousands of people gathered to witness the plane's departure. Just before she boarded the VC-25A Presidential Aircraft, Nancy Reagan waved to the crowd with her military escort at her side. The plane lifted off at about 9:40 am PST.
Events in Washington
In Washington, D.C., members of Congress, and much of the public, paid tribute to Reagan immediately after his death and throughout his funeral.
Funeral procession Events in the capital began when Reagan's casket arrived at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. It was removed from the plane, driven by hearse in a procession through the Maryland and Virginia suburbs and the nation's capital, across the Arlington Memorial Bridge, and onto Constitution Avenue.
Just before the plane arrived at Andrews AFB, the U.S. Capitol was evacuated for a brief period, when a plane carrying Kentucky Governor Ernie Fletcher was reported off course and created a scare by entering restricted airspace; the transponder on Fletcher's plane malfunctioned, leading officials at Reagan National Airport to report an unauthorized aircraft entering restricted airspace. Two U.S. Air Force F-15 fighters were dispatched to investigate, and Fletcher's plane was escorted to its destination by two UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters. The plane, a 33-year-old Beechcraft King Air, was the oldest of its model still in operation. An investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) found that the crew of Fletcher's plane maintained radio contact with air traffic officials and received clearance to enter the restricted air space. The investigation determined that miscommunication by air traffic controllers sparked the panic. Though the incident did not affect further funeral events, in the aftermath the FAA adopted policies to prevent future errors of a similar nature.
Near the Ellipse, and within sight of the White House, the hearse halted and Reagan's body was transferred to a horse-drawn caisson for the procession down Constitution Avenue to Capitol Hill. Nancy Reagan stepped out of her limousine to witness the casket's transfer; she was met with a warm greeting, including applause. The cortege began the 45-minute journey just after 6:00 pm EST, with the Reagan family following in limousines. Military units escorted the caisson as it made its way to the sounds of muffled drums. Behind the caisson was a riderless horse named Sergeant York, carrying Reagan's riding boots reversed in the stirrups. The caisson paused at 4th Street and Constitution Avenue, where 21 F-15s from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in North Carolina, flew over in missing man formation.
Capitol Hill The caisson stopped when it arrived at Capitol Hill; military units removed the casket, and "Hail to the Chief" was played amidst a 21-gun salute. The casket was carried up the west front steps of the Capitol, mainly because Reagan was first inaugurated there and he wanted to face west, toward California. Two teams of military pallbearers carried the casket up the steps of the Capitol to "The Battle Hymn of the Republic".
When the casket reached the top of the steps, Nancy Reagan and her military escort met it. As the casket passed them, Nancy momentarily pulled away from her escort, reached out, and touched the casket. They followed it inside to the rotunda.
The casket was placed under the rotunda, where it lay in state on Abraham Lincoln's catafalque. An evening memorial service then took place, with dignitaries primarily composed of Members of Congress, members of the United States Supreme Court, and the diplomatic corps; the Reverend Daniel Coughlin, Chaplain of the House of Representatives, gave the invocation. Eulogies were then delivered by Senate President pro tempore Ted Stevens, House Speaker Dennis Hastert, and Vice President Dick Cheney.
After the eulogies, the three speakers each laid a wreath at the casket, and the Senate Chaplain, Pastor Barry Black, gave the benediction. Cheney escorted Nancy Reagan to the casket, where she said her goodbyes. The dignitaries in the room paid their respects during the next half-hour. In a rare instance, the doors of the Capitol were then opened to the public, who stood in lines stretching many blocks to view the casket.
Public viewing The general public stood in long lines waiting for a turn to pay their respects to the president. About 5,000 per hour passed the casket, after waiting up to seven hours. In all, 104,684 paid their respects when Reagan lay in state.Lak, Daniel. "Reagan lies in state at Capitol". BBC, June 11, 2004. Retrieved 2008-03-09."United States Capitol Police Press Releases: Lying In State for former President Reagan" . United States Capitol Police. Retrieved 2008-03-09
After returning to Washington following the G8 summit in Sea Island, Georgia, President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush visited the rotunda to pay their respects. Many world leaders did the same, including interim Iraqi president Ghazi al-Yawer, former Polish president Lech Wałęsa, Gorbachev, and Thatcher, Reagan's good friend and associate.
While Reagan's casket lay in state, Nancy Reagan and her family took up temporary residence in Blair House, the official residence of guests of the president of the United States. There, she was greeted by additional dignitaries and public figures. During a visit from Thatcher, the former prime minister wrote in the Blair House condolence book, "To Ronnie, Well done, thou good and faithful servant."
State funeral service