{"id":60880,"date":"2025-09-21T23:21:45","date_gmt":"2025-09-21T21:21:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/?p=60880"},"modified":"2025-10-06T16:01:00","modified_gmt":"2025-10-06T14:01:00","slug":"the-ronald-reagan-presidential-library-and-museum-and-his-grave-in-simi-valley","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/2025\/09\/21\/the-ronald-reagan-presidential-library-and-museum-and-his-grave-in-simi-valley\/","title":{"rendered":"The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum and his grave in Simi Valley"},"content":{"rendered":"

Republican Ronald Reagan (1911-2004) was the 40th President of the United States and one of the most prominent figures in 20th-century politics.<\/p>\n

The U-505, a German submarine exhibited in the US and that starred in a secret story<\/a><\/rel>
\nThe battleship USS Alabama and the formidable military museum around it<\/a><\/rel><\/p>\n

Ronald Wilson Reagan did not become famous as a politician, but as an actor.<\/strong> Between 1937 and 1964 he participated in 69 films. In the political sphere, he began supporting the Democratic Party, but in the 1950s he began to move closer to the Republican Party<\/strong> (which he joined in 1962), supporting the candidacies of Dwight D. Eisenhower and Richard Nixon for president of the United States. Moved by conservative ideas and by the defense of a limited state, in 1966 he was elected governor of California<\/strong>, a state that he governed for two consecutive terms between 1967 and 1975. In 1968 he began his path to the White House<\/strong>, competing (unsuccessfully) against Nixon in the Republican primaries.<\/p>\n

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The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in Simi Valley (Photo: Reagan Fundation<\/a>).<\/div>\n

In 1980, Reagan finally won the support of the Republican Party to run for president.<\/strong> With the support of two good friends, fellow Republican actors John Wayne and James Stewart, he won that year's presidential election by a landslide against then-President, Democrat Jimmy Carter.<\/p>\n

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A portrait of Ronald Reagan and the U.S. presidential seal at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum (Photo: Reagan Fundation<\/a>).<\/div>\n

Reagan served as president from 1981 to 1989, playing a prominent role in the fall of communism, alongside Pope Saint John Paul II, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, and German Chancellor Helmut Kohl. In addition to his staunch opposition to communism, his term was marked by the so-called conservative revolution<\/strong>, a regenerative movement that sought to repair the damage suffered by the economy and society during Carter's term (1977\u20131981).<\/p>\n

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The monumental tomb of Ronald Reagan and his wife Nancy (Photo: reaganfoundation.org<\/a>).<\/div>\n

Reagan suffered from Alzheimer's for the last ten years of his life.<\/strong> He died of pneumonia on June 5, 2004, in Los Angeles, California. Two days later, his body was taken to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in Simi Valley<\/a>, California, where a funeral chapel was held and visited by more than 100,000 people<\/a> over two days. His coffin was then transported on Air Force One, the US presidential plane, to Washington DC, where a massive state funeral took place, attended by 45 world leaders and representatives from 167 countries<\/strong>, including the then Prince Felipe (current King of Spain).<\/p>\n

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The VH-3A Sea King \"Marine One\" presidential helicopter 150611, which is on display inside the museum (Photo: reaganfoundation.org<\/a>).<\/div>\n

Ronald Reagan's casket was eventually returned to Simi Valley<\/strong>, where he was laid to rest in a memorial near the Presidential Library and Museum that bears his name. There, he received his final farewell from his widow, Nancy Reagan, who hugged the American flag that had draped her husband's coffin.<\/strong> She passed away on March 6, 2016, and is buried next to her husband. The tomb where they both rest bears the following words spoken by Ronald Reagan in 1991, a man known for his optimism: \"I know in my heart that man is good, that what is right will always eventually triumph, and there is purpose and worth to each and every life.<\/strong>\"<\/em><\/p>\n

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The Boeing VC-137C Stratoliner SAM 27000 \"Air Force One\" preserved in the museum (Photo: Rlwagner<\/a>).<\/div>\n

Today, The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum houses various artifacts related to the life of the president,<\/strong> from his youth to his time as an actor and during his political career. Among the museum's most surprising contents are a Boeing VC-137C Stratoliner aircraft<\/strong> (specifically VC-137C SAM 27000, 72-7000), the version of the Boeing 707 used as Air Force One during Reagan's presidency, a VH-3A Sea King \"Marine One\" helicopter, 150611<\/strong> (also used by Reagan as president), one of the presidential Cadillac Fleetwood limousines<\/strong>, as well as two other vehicles used as escorts.<\/p>\n

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The piece of the Berlin Wall that is located outside the museum (Photo: reaganfoundation.org<\/a>).<\/div>\n

Additionally, outside the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum is a fragment of the Berlin Wall<\/a>, which was brought to that location in April 1990 after the fall of the barrier, which the communist dictatorship of East Germany used to prevent millions of people from fleeing its oppressive regime.<\/p>\n

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The F-117 Nighthawk 82-0803 Unexpected Guest, displayed outside the museum on a pedestal (Photo: reaganfoundation.org<\/a>).<\/div>\n

There are also two other aircraft inside the museum. One is a Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk stealth attack aircraft, 82-0803 Unexpected Guest<\/strong>, mounted on a pedestal. This aircraft made its first secret flight on June 18, 1981, a few months after Regan took office, and was revealed to the public in 1988. There is also an F-14A Tomcat naval fighter, 162592<\/strong>, displayed in the colors of the VF-41 Black Aces. Two F-14s from this squadron shot down two Libyan Su-22 fighters on August 18, 1981<\/a>, an event that inspired the famous film \"Top Gun\" (1986). The F-14A on display at the museum did not actually belong to VF-41<\/a>, but served in VF-1, VF-21, VF-154, and finally Top Gun.<\/p>\n

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F-14A 162592 on display outside the museum (Photo: reaganfoundation.org<\/a>).<\/div>\n

The military section of this museum is completed by an M1 Abrams tank<\/strong>, also on display outside. This is one of the first tanks of its type. It has a 105 mm M68A1 cannon (current Abrams tanks carry 120 mm M256 cannons). The tank on display in the museum belonged to the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment \"Blackhorse\" (11th ACR).<\/p>\n

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The M1 Abrams on display outside the museum (Photo: reaganfoundation.org<\/a>).<\/div>\n

A few days ago, the YouTube channel The History Underground<\/a> (which I recommend subscribing to if you're interested in history in general) published a video visiting the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum and his gravesite in Simi Valley<\/strong>, where you can see more details about these places:<\/p>\n