RONALD W. REAGAN:
‘THERE IS PURPOSE AND WORTH
TO EACH AND EVERY LIFE’
A military honor guard placed the casket of former President Ronald Reagan onto the bier yesterday afternoon during interment ceremonies at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif. INSET: Nancy Reagan, center, was supported by son Ron, left, daughter Patti Davis and stepson Michael, back right, during the interment as she wept over the coffin bearing her husband.
Final respects
Local leaders and the community
pay tribute to Ronald Reagan in
a service at St. Andrew’s Cathedral
Aue! Aue! Aloha e Ua lele ka manu
Noho pu ka Haku me 'oe, 'a'ole i ho'i,
Aloha e, aloha e ke alohalani e.Weep! Weep! Farewell, the bird has taken flight,
You are with the Lord, never to return
Farewell, farewell beloved leader.
-- John Lake and Frank Kawaikapuokalani Hewett
Community leaders and the public bid former President Ronald Reagan "aloha 'oe" at St. Andrew's Cathedral, where he attended services during his visit here in 1984.
About 250 people, including children, gathered yesterday at the nonpartisan service in downtown Honolulu to pay tribute to the 40th U.S. president and reflect on his message of hope and optimism for the nation.
"His was a message of faith and hope and the idea we can succeed, can be better and must be better," said state Sen. Sam Slom, who met the former California governor here in 1978.
Reagan, 93, died last Saturday at his Los Angeles home. He had been suffering from Alzheimer's disease for nearly a decade.
Mayoral hopeful Mufi Hannemann recalled the "chicken skin" he felt in 1983 when Reagan walked into a room full of White House Fellows waiting to receive their certificates.
The first words Reagan spoke as he entered were, "Who's this tall fella?" pointing to Hannemann, who at 6 feet 7 inches towered above the president and others in the room. "It sent goose bumps up and down my spine."
"When I got to meet him, I told him all about Hawaii, where I'm from, and it made me feel very unique," said Hannemann, who up until then had only heard about the president's reputation as "The Great Communicator."
"He had this ability to connect and this personal magnetism I can't really explain," said Hannemann, a Democrat who worked at the White House for a year, observing the Republican president up close.
Hawaii residents paid their respects to the late President Reagan yesterday at ceremonies at St. Andrew's Cathedral.
Retired Navy Capt. Gerald Coffee, a prisoner of war for seven years during the Vietnam War, recalled how then-California Gov. Reagan and his wife, Nancy, met with him and fellow POWs after their release. "They were like family, eager to hear our stories," Coffee said.
Just as he and fellow POWs communicated each night by knocking on the walls that separated them in captivity, Coffee, in a final goodbye to his former commander in chief, knocked the messages "Good night" and "God bless you."
Rebecca Owers Perdue and daughter Robyn, of Tyler, Texas, who are in town for the annual King Kamehameha celebration and Matsuri celebrations, penned a note of thanks Thursday in memory books at the state Capitol that will be sent to the Reagan Library.
Perdue had sent the president an invitation to her wedding in 1981 and had received a letter of congratulations from him.
"We treasure that, along with other wedding memorabilia -- that he took the time to remember a wedding way off in Texas," Perdue said.
Dave Muldoon, center, wiped tears from his eyes yesterday as he and other people lined up at St. Andrew's Cathedral in Honolulu to pay final respects to former President Reagan.
In honor of Reagan, kumu hula John Lake, accompanied by his halau, Na Wa'a Lalani Kahuna O Pu'ukoholaheiau, of the Big Island, performed a chant written for the president by Lake and fellow kumu hula Frank Kawaikapuokalani Hewett.
Members of the community also presented five gifts symbolic of Hawaii and a fitting tribute for one of America's greatest cowboys -- a steersman's koa paddle, a paniolo hat with feather lei, an ukulele, a poi pounder and a kukui nut lei.
The gifts and a DVD of the ceremony will be sent to the Reagan Library.
At the close of the service, many of the attendees knelt at a large maile-draped photograph of the president to lay flower leis and blossoms.
In one of two large tapa-covered books, attendees such as 9-year-old Christian Gamboa, of Okinawa, had a chance to write a message to the president. In neat cursive he wrote: "God bless you, say hi to my Grandma Perez. She always loved you."
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Kaneohe ceremony
honors Reagan
Servicemen and women saluted their former commander in chief one last time yesterday as taps played and the flag flew at half-staff atop the Iwo Jima war memorial in Kaneohe.
About 150 active-duty and former military personnel and civilians paid their respects at a memorial service for the late President Ronald Reagan at Marine Corps Base Kaneohe.
Speaker Navy Chaplain Joe Estabrook remarked how Reagan "connected us as a family," as Americans as well as Marines.
Many in attendance reflected on their feelings about Reagan.
"He was my commander in chief," said retired Army Chief Warrant Officer 3 Ken Watts, 45, who attended with his 3-month-old daughter, MacKenzie.
Watts was stationed in Germany when Reagan uttered the memorable words at the Brandenburg Gate, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall."
Watts said: "It was a moving time. We were part of that history."
People bowed their heads yesterday during prayer at a memorial service in Kaneohe for former President Ronald Reagan at the Pacific War Memorial.
Retired Marine Lt. Col. Spot Robertson admired the former president for being "a breath of fresh air."
"People could always relate to him," Robertson said. "I felt I knew the guy."
Marine Brig. Gen. Jerry McAbee was in Beirut during the terrorist bombing that killed 241 Marines, sailors and soldiers in 1983, and recalled Reagan's visit to Marine Camp Lejeune in North Carolina to grieve with the families.
"He showed a lot of courage, compassion and leadership," he said, adding that those qualities defined Reagan as commander in chief.
"He was always looking out for the little guy," noted Lucy Decker, 49, a Kailua resident who served in the Army during the Vietnam era. "Even when people thought he wasn't right, he stood by his ideas.
"We wanted to come to say farewell," said Decker, who attended with her sister.
Kailua resident Becky Montag brought her daughter, 4, and son, 2.
"I hope through pictures we can remind them, especially the 4-year-old, they were here to remember a president who provided freedom for them," she said.
"I hope that our kids can learn honor and respect for our country and our leaders."
