Michael Reagan: A Salute
As has been headlined in the news, Michael Reagan, the son of the late president and the late actress Jane Wyman, passed away recently. Mike was 80, and a lovely service was held for him at St. Mel Catholic Church in Los Angeles. (RELATED: Mike Reagan, Twice Adopted, Rest in Peace)
The service was carried by Newsmax (Mike was a Newsmax TV host). There were eulogies at the service from Newsmax’s own John Gizzi, Sirius XM radio host David Urban, and Andrew Coffin, representing the Reagan ranch.
While I didn’t know Mike well, I can say that he had more than successfully made considerable contributions as both a conservative commentator and an American.
Many do not realize that to be a son or daughter of a president of the United States is no easy task. Everyone is constantly comparing the son or daughter to their globally known presidential parent. In Mike’s case, he overcame this constant situation to more than successfully create his own career as a conservative commentator and author, more than capable of being judged not as the son of a great, decidedly legendary president but as a man on his own. He hosted a live radio show for over 26 years that was nationally syndicated by the Premiere Radio Networks.
Among his many accomplishments was the founding of the Reagan Legacy Foundation. The Foundation was created, said Mike, “to memorialize my father’s accomplishments, and to educate and inspire people worldwide to value freedom and liberty.”
Mike Reagan did that in spades. A visit to the Foundation’s website has this note from Mike:
As I reflect on the life and accomplishments of my father Ronald Reagan, I embrace with gratitude his bold dreams, basic beliefs, and unwavering faith in the greatness of America and Americans. Ronald Reagan was an incredible father. And while I cherish his legacy as any child of such a father would, what I am most proud of is his steadfast dedication to individual liberty and global democracy and the positive impact these values had upon our nation and our world.
When Ronald Reagan won the presidential election in 1980, there were 56 democracies in the world. When he left office in 1989 there were 76. By 1994, there were 114. This explosion in freedom and democracy was a dream of Ronald Reagan’s and a historic achievement of his presidency.
Featured on the Foundation site are projects that include a Normandy Museum, which honors those who paid the ultimate price in the historic D-Day invasion of Nazi-occupied France.
Notably, the Foundation established a major exhibit that “marks the first major tribute in Berlin to Ronald Reagan’s historic contributions to the fall of communism and the reunification of Germany.”
The Foundation also created the USS Ronald Reagan Scholarship that honors “those who serve aboard aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan through scholarships for sailors and airmen and their family members.”
In addition to all his work heading the Foundation and doing hundreds of live radio shows, Mike was a prolific author.
Notably, he penned Lessons My Father Taught Me: The Strength, Integrity, and Faith of Ronald Reagan, written with co-author Jim Denney.
In this terrific read, Mike looks back over his considerable time with his Dad, whom he calls “The greatest man he has ever known — and one of the greatest men the world has known.” He recalls his father’s advice on subjects ranging from loving your family, working both hard and smart, making your marriage work, and not worrying about who gets the credit. In the latter case, the President had a brass plaque on his desk in the Oval Office that read: “There is no limit to what a man can do or where he can go if he doesn’t mind who gets the credit.”(I have a duplicate of that plaque on my own desk, along with a copy of another plaque from the president’s desk that simply reads: “It CAN be done.”
The book is a candid telling of the father-son relationship, with the son noting he had resented “the distance between my father and me and started bridging that distance.” This last problem was resolved with Mike finally giving his Dad a hug in full view of Secret Service agents, reporters, and personnel from the radio station where Mike had his show.
Mike writes:
Three years after that first hug, Dad told the world he had been stricken with Alzheimer’s disease. Time passed, the disease progressed, and it gradually stole my father’s memories from him. The day came when he no longer remembered my name.
Mike ends his memorable, personal telling by saying this of his decision to bridge the distance between father and son with hugs — and advising readers: “Take the initiative. Put your arms around someone you love. Say ‘I love you,’ before it’s too late. That’s the greatest lesson of all.”
Now it is Michael Reagan’s turn to cross the bridge to eternity. One can suspect that his first experience there was a father-son reunion — and a hug.
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