When he arrived in the capital, Lyndon Johnson made his first official statement as president: "This is a sad time for all people. We have suffered a loss that cannot be weighed. For me, it is a deep personal tragedy. I know the world shares the sorrow that Mrs. Kennedy and her family bear. I will do my best. That is all I can do. I ask for your help-and G.o.d's."

Johnson's goal was a seamless transition. In a joint session of Congress five days after the a.s.sa.s.sination, he made an appeal for unity, invoking the memory of the slain president. The following year, he won reelection in his own right. Johnson went on to introduce a broad social program known as the Great Society which addressed poverty, Medicare and Medicaid, and civil rights. Overseas, Johnson agreed to escalate U.S. involvement in Vietnam.

Statue of LBJ on the grounds of his ranch On March 31, 1968, public outcry over U.S. involvement in Vietnam led Lyndon Johnson to announce his decision not to run for reelection. Instead, he pledged to seek an end to the war in Asia. He would not live to see that goal accomplished. Visibly worn, LBJ returned to his beloved ranch in the Texas Hill Country, making occasional public appearances. In December 1972, Johnson traveled to Independence, Missouri for Harry Truman's funeral.

On January 22, 1973, LBJ was in his bedroom for his regular afternoon nap when he was stricken with a heart attack. He called the switchboard and asked for the head of his Secret Service detail. Two agents arrived with a portable oxygen unit and found Johnson on the floor beside the bed. One of the agents performed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and an external heart ma.s.sage in an effort to save the former president.

Johnson was quickly flown in a family plane to San Antonio International Airport where he was to be taken by ambulance to Brooke Army Medical Center. But it was too late. Lyndon Johnson was p.r.o.nounced dead at 4:33 p.m. Lady Bird Johnson arrived moments later by helicopter. She was driving home from the Johnson Library when she learned of her husband's heart attack.

Plans for his funeral had been set five years earlier. Funeral services began in Texas with Johnson's body lying in state at the library. Tens of thousands filed past, including many who had known Johnson since childhood. His gray coffin was then flown to Washington to lie in state at the Capitol Rotunda. Forty thousand people pa.s.sed by the catafalque where President Nixon laid a wreath of carnations.

To the strains of Chopin's funeral march, a military procession led mourners to National City Christian Church, where Johnson often worshipped as president. The service was broadcast over a public address system for those gathered outside. Leontyne Price, the Metropolitan Opera soprano who had performed at Johnson's inauguration, sang two solos.

Lyndon Johnson made a final journey home to his Texas ranch. A cold rain fell on the morning he was laid to rest alongside his parents. Reverend Billy Graham conducted the service under the oak trees on the northern bank of the Pedernales River. An army band played and Anita Bryant sang the "Battle Hymn of the Republic." The Texas National Guard fired a twenty-one-gun salute. Dignitaries and local citizens alike watched as Lady Bird Johnson was given the flag that covered her husband's coffin. Later that afternoon Hubert Humphrey, who had served as Johnson's vice president, and actor Gregory Peck joined the family and other invited guests for coffee and sandwiches at the ranch house.

Lady Bird Johnson remained active in public life after her husband's death, working with several organizations devoted to preserving the Texas landscape. She died in 2007 at the age of ninety-four and was buried at her husband's side on their Texas ranch.

Touring Lyndon Johnson's Tomb at the LBJ Ranch The LBJ Ranch is located near Johnson City, Texas. The park headquarters and visitor center which give information about Lyndon Johnson's life and presidency, are located in Johnson City. Both facilities are open daily except Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day. The visitor center is open from 8:45 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Bus tours of the LBJ Ranch are available from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Admission to the LBJ Ranch is free. Go to the state park visitor center to receive a free permit to drive through the park. Admission to the Texas White House Office tour is $1.00 for adults and free for children seventeen and younger.

From Austin: Take Highway 290 West. At the traffic light in Johnson City, turn left (still on Highway 290) towards Fredericksburg. Drive three blocks and turn left on Avenue F, then go two blocks and turn right onto Lady Bird Lane. The parking lot and Visitor Center are located on the left.

From San Antonio: Take Highway 281 North until it joins Highway 290. At the traffic light in Johnson City, turn left towards Fredericksburg, drive three blocks and turn left on Avenue F. Go two blocks and turn right onto Lady Bird Lane. The parking lot and Visitor Center are located on the left.

From Fredericksburg: Take Highway 290 East to Johnson City. After pa.s.sing the blinking traffic light, drive two blocks and turn right onto Avenue F. Go two blocks and turn right onto Lady Bird Lane. The parking lot and Visitor Center are located on the left.

To the LBJ Ranch: From park headquarters, take Highway 290 West fourteen miles to the LBJ State Historical Park. Tickets for the LBJ Ranch bus tour are purchased at the State Park Visitor Center.

Lyndon Johnson's gravesite is beside the ranch house in the Johnson family cemetery along the banks of the Pedernales River.

For additional information Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park P.O. Box 329 Johnson City, Texas 78636 Phone: (830) 868-7128 Fax: (830) 868-7863 www.nps.gov/lyjo/ "If ever there were a Lion in Winter, it was Lyndon Johnson."-Richard Norton Smith[image]The Johnson family cemetery on the grounds of the LBJ ranchIf ever there were a Lion in Winter, it was Lyndon Johnson. His post-presidential kingdom shrank to the dimensions of the LBJ Ranch, his white hair grew to near-shoulder length, and memoir writing held little appeal. As he once informed Harry Middleton, the director of his presidential library, in a different context, "Good men have been trying to save my reputation for forty years, and not a d.a.m.n one succeeded. What makes you think you can?" Haunted by Vietnam, Johnson feared that Richard Nixon's conservative counterrevolution would scuttle his Great Society. "And when she dies," he observed, "I, too, will die."Death was much on his thoughts. He took the Reverend Billy Graham out to the Johnson family cemetery on the banks of the Pedernales. "One day you're going to be asked to preach at my funeral," he told Graham. "You'll come right here under this tree and I'll be buried right there. You'll read the Bible and preach the Gospel and I want you to. I hope you'll tell people about some of the things I tried to do."One of the things Lyndon Johnson tried hardest to do was redress centuries of racial injustice. In December 1971, an obviously ailing former president attended a civil rights conference at the LBJ Library. In the audience were such giants of the movement as Thurgood Marshall, Roy Wilkins, Hubert Humphrey, and Earl Warren. His doctors urged him to stay away; if he had to go, by all means he should avoid the strain of public speaking. Being Lyndon Johnson, he overruled their objections. He had a valedictory message to deliver and it didn't lack for point."Progress has been much too small; we haven't done nearly enough," Johnson told his countrymen. "To be black in white society is not to stand on level and equal ground. While the races may stand side by side, whites stand on history's mountain and blacks stand in history's hollow. Until we overcome unequal history, we cannot overcome unequal opportunity."It was his last public appearance. Among those filing by Johnson's casket at the library six weeks later was a young, bearded man who on another day might have marched in protest of the Vietnam War. Bowing slightly before Lady Bird Johnson, he said simply, "My apologies." Meanwhile, Harry Middleton a.s.signed someone on the library staff to keep a careful count of the thirty-two thousand mourners who came to pay their respects. "I know that somewhere, sometime, President Johnson is going to ask me," he explained.-RNS

Richard Nixon Buried: Richard Nixon Library and Birthplace, Yorba Linda, California Thirty-seventh President - 1969-1974 Born: January 9, 1913, in Yorba Linda, California Died: 9:08 p.m. on April 22, 1994, in New York, New York Age at death: 81 Cause of death: Stroke Final words: Unknown Admission to Richard Nixon Library and Birthplace: $9.95 Richard Nixon is the only U.S. president to resign his office. He won the presidency in 1968 on his second try, after narrowly losing the opportunity to succeed Dwight Eisenhower to John F. Kennedy in 1960.

The first Nixon administration focused much of its attention on world affairs, particularly the reduction of U.S. involvement in Vietnam. Nixon visited China, the first U.S. president to do so, in an attempt to restore diplomatic relations with the Communist regime.

However, Nixon's presidency is remembered for the aftermath of events in 1972 connected to his reelection campaign. Several members of his campaign staff were arrested for breaking into the Democratic National Committee at the Watergate complex in Washington. When it was revealed that aides to the president had engaged in a series of illegal schemes, including burglary and wiretapping, a Senate committee was established to investigate. Several of the officials were later convicted for their roles in the Watergate affair.

Nixon's monument reads, "The greatest t.i.tle history can bestow is the t.i.tle of peacemaker"

Tapes from the president's own White House recording system confirmed that he was aware of the crimes and tried to hinder the investigation. In July 1974, the House Judiciary Committee issued three articles of impeachment against the president. He was charged with obstruction of justice, abuse of power, and failure to comply with congressional subpoenas. Rather than risk impeachment, Nixon resigned the presidency on August 9, 1974.

Richard and Pat Nixon returned to their home in San Clemente, California, hoping to escape the glare of publicity. In September 1974, a month after his resignation, Nixon was granted a full pardon by his successor, Gerald Ford. In 1980, the Nixons moved back to the east coast to be closer to their daughters and grandchildren. The former president wrote several bestselling books on foreign policy. As an elder statesman, he continued to travel abroad and to advise successive administrations on foreign policy.

On the afternoon of Monday, April 18, 1994, Richard Nixon, then eighty-one, was relaxing at his Park Ridge, New Jersey home. He'd spent the day crafting a speech to rally the Republican faithful. Around 5:45 p.m., Nixon suffered a ma.s.sive stroke. His housekeeper, Heidi Retter, helped him to a sofa before calling an ambulance.

Doctors found his right side was paralyzed and his speech and vision impaired. The next morning, he took a turn for the worse.

By Thursday, Richard Nixon had fallen into a deep coma. His "living will" forbade the use of any extraordinary measures to prolong his life. With his two daughters and their families at his bedside, Richard Nixon died at 9:08 p.m. on Friday, April 22, 1994. Arrangements were made for a funeral service at the Nixon Library in Yorba Linda, California. At the dedication of the complex just four years earlier, Nixon had spoken to friends of his plan to be "planted" there under an oak tree. Respecting Nixon's wishes, his family declined to mark his death with an elaborate state affair in Washington.

Nixon's plain wooden casket was flown to California on the same Boeing 707 that had carried him into political exile in 1974. Amidst violent thunderstorms, the former president's body was taken by a military honor guard to lie in repose at the library. A military band played "Hail to the Chief," nearly drowned out by the news helicopters circling overhead. Over the next twenty hours, an estimated forty-two thousand people, largely working cla.s.s, filed past the closed casket, which was surrounded by hundreds of floral tributes, including those sent by Russian President Boris Yeltsin and Poland's Lech Walesa.

On Wednesday, April 27, three thousand guests gathered on the library grounds for the funeral. The four remaining former presidents-Ford, Carter, Reagan, and George H.W. Bush-and their wives joined President and Mrs. Clinton in the first row. More than one hundred members of the U.S. House and Senate attended, along with many foreign dignitaries. Reverend Billy Graham conducted the service, telling of Nixon's final thumbs up to doctors as he entered the hospital. President Clinton read a eulogy, as did California Governor Pete Wilson, Nixon's Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, and Senate Minority Leader Robert Dole, who broke down as he gave his final tribute.

After the "Battle Hymn of the Republic" was played and taps was sounded, the two flags covering the coffin were given to Nixon's daughters. Planes flew overhead and a fifty-gun salute was fired. Richard Nixon was laid to rest alongside his wife Pat, who had died of lung cancer the previous year. His black granite tombstone is inscribed with a quote from his first inaugural address: "The greatest honor history can bestow is the t.i.tle of peacemaker."

Touring the Tomb at the Richard Nixon Library and Birthplace The Richard Nixon Library and Birthplace is open daily, except Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years Day. Hours are from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Sat.u.r.day, and 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Sundays. Admission is $9.95 for adults, $5.95 for students, $6.95 for senior citizens, and $3.75 for children ages seven to eleven.

From downtown Los Angeles: Go south on Interstate 5 to Highway 91. Take Highway 91 East to Highway 57. Take Highway 57 North and exit at Yorba Linda Boulevard. Turn right on Yorba Linda to reach the library and birthplace.

From LAX: Take Sepulveda to 105 Freeway East. From 105, take 605 Freeway South to 91 Freeway East to 57 Freeway North. Exit at Yorba Linda Boulevard. Turn right on Yorba Linda Boulevard to reach the library and birthplace.

To reach the gravesite, exit the lobby and walk alongside the reflecting pool. The memorial is located at the end of the reflecting pool, directly across from Nixon's birthplace.

For additional information Richard Nixon Library and Birthplace 18001 Yorba Linda Boulevard Yorba Linda, CA 92886 Phone: (714) 993-5075 Fax: (714) 528-0544 www.nixonlibraryfoundation.org Patricia Nixon's inscription reads, "Even when people can't speak your language, they can tell if you have love in your heart"

"The theme was one of reconciliation..."-Richard Norton Smith

In June 1993, I was privileged to join the congregation of mourners who attended Pat Nixon's funeral, held in the rose garden of the Nixon Library in Yorba Linda, California. Afterwards, we were invited inside the library for an impromptu tribute from a grieving husband. Richard Nixon spoke that day of the joys of grandparenting. He remembered how his first grandchild, young Melanie Eisenhower, had been uncertain what to call Pat. Not surprisingly, Mrs. Nixon thought Grandmother overly formal and Grandma a bit too ancient for her liking."Why don't you just call me Ma?" Pat told the little girl. Melanie next approached her grandfather with the same question."Oh, that's all right, Melanie," the former president replied. "You can call me anything, because I've been called everything."[image]"Checkers," Nixon's famous dog, is immortalized on the grounds of the Richard Nixon Library[image]Richard Nixon was born in this Yorba Linda, California homeLooking around, I saw Senator Bob Dole biting his lip, struggling to contain his emotions. A few feet away stood former Senator George McGovern, Nixon's 1972 opponent, dabbing at his eyes with a handkerchief. Later on, McGovern was approached by a reporter cra.s.s enough to ask what he was doing at the funeral services. McGovern expressed his longstanding admiration for Mrs. Nixon, only to be reminded of the alleged dirty tricks conducted by the Nixon campaign a generation earlier. The implication was clear: how could he in good conscience honor the wife of such an opponent?"You can't keep campaigning forever," said McGovern.The exchange came back to me just ten months later when attending the late president's funeral service at the Nixon Library. Again, the theme was one of reconciliation, unforgettably ill.u.s.trated by the presence of America's five living presidents and their wives, as well as President Clinton's generous invitation to stop judging America's most controversial president on anything less than his entire record.-RNS

Gerald R. Ford Buried: Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum, Grand Rapids, Michigan Thirty-eighth President - 1974-1977 Born: July 14, 1913, in Omaha, Nebraska Died: 6:45 p.m. on December 26, 2006, in Rancho Mirage, California Age at death: 93 Cause of death: heart disease Final words: Unknown Admission to Gerald R. Ford Museum: $7.00 Gerald Ford is the only man in American history to have reached the Oval Office without being elected as either president or vice president. He stood for election in 1976; after narrowly losing, Ford attended Jimmy Carter's inauguration, then said good-bye to his staff. Setting out for the warm temperatures of Palm Springs, California, and a game with legendary golfer Arnold Palmer, he told reporters, "The presidency was hard, but I had antic.i.p.ated it would be. I had seen presidents before. I had seen the tough jobs they had, the difficult decisions they had to make. So I knew it would be tough. But I have always liked long hours."

Even before his presidency ended, Gerald Ford considered his legacy. On December 13, 1976, Ford wrote to the president of the University of Michigan, his beloved alma mater, and offered to give all his papers to the federal government, with the understanding that they would be housed in a campus library. He became the first president to donate his papers while still in office. On the last day of his presidency, nine vans filled with 8,500 cubic feet of Gerald Ford's papers headed for Ann Arbor, Michigan.

The Ford Museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan opened its doors in 1981 The library opened in April 1981; the Gerald R. Ford Museum, located in Ford's hometown of Grand Rapids, Michigan, opened in September that same year. Today the library provides researchers with over 20 million doc.u.ments relating to Ford's presidency. The Ford Museum profiles the former president's life and career with exhibits ranging from a 1970s disco-style theater and full-scale replica of the Oval Office, to the tools used in the Watergate break-in and a holographic White House permitting visitors to go "inside" rooms of the presidential residence. President and Mrs. Ford decided that they would be buried on the museum grounds.

This astronaut at the museum's entrance represents Ford's commitment to America's s.p.a.ce program Gerald Ford continued to lead an active life after leaving the White House. He completed his memoirs, frequently contributed to the nation's op-ed pages, and remained involved in Republican Party politics. In August 1999, on the twenty-fifth anniversary of his inauguration, President Ford was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in a ceremony at the White House. Presenting the medal to President Ford, President Bill Clinton said, "When he left the White House after 895 days, America was stronger, calmer, and more self-confident. America was, in other words, more like President Ford himself."

Mr. Ford died at his home in Rancho Mirage, California, on December 26, 2006, at the age of ninety-three, as our longest-living former president. Only Herbert Hoover had a longer post-presidential life. Mr. Ford's official funeral ceremonies took place over five days, beginning with a public viewing in Palm Desert, California. A national day of mourning was declared by President George W. Bush as Gerald Ford's body lay in state in the U.S. Capitol. A memorial service attended by the four living presidents-Jimmy Carter, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush-at Washington's National Cathedral honored the former president with cannon and pealing bells. President Ford's body was then flown to his presidential museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where 10,000 mourners stood in line for an all-night viewing of the presidential casket. A final memorial service was held at nearby Grace Episcopal Church, where he and Betty had been married, followed by internment at the museum.

Touring the Gerald R. Ford Museum or Library The Gerald R. Ford Museum is located on the west bank of the Grand River in Grand Rapids, Michigan and is open to the public daily. The Ford Museum is open daily from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., except Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day. Admission to the museum is $7.00 for adults, $6.00 for senior citizens, and free for children under age sixteen.

To reach the museum from Cadillac or Muskegon: Take Interstate 296/U.S. 131 South and exit at Pearl Street. Turn left on Pearl at the light to the museum entrance. Turn left into the parking lot.

From Lansing: Take Interstate 196 West, also known as the Gerald Ford Freeway. Take the Ottawa/Downtown exit and continue to Pearl Street. Turn right on Pearl Street and right into the parking lot.

From Kalamazoo: Take U.S. 131 North and exit at Pearl Street. Turn right onto Pearl to the museum entrance and north into the parking lot.

The Gerald R. Ford Library is situated on University of Michigan's North Campus in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It is open Monday through Friday, 8:45 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., except federal holidays.

To reach the library: Exit U.S. 23 onto Geddes Road heading west. Geddes Road becomes Fuller Road. Follow Fuller until you reach Beal Avenue. Make a right turn onto Beal Avenue. The first driveway on the right is the entrance to the parking lot. The library has free parking but visitors need to obtain a permit from the front office.

For additional information Gerald R. Ford Museum 303 Pearl Street NW Grand Rapids, MI 49504-5353 Phone: (616) 254-0400 Fax: (616) 254-0386 www.ford.utexas.edu

Gerald R. Ford Library 1000 Beal Avenue Ann Arbor, MI 48109 Phone: (734) 205-0555 Fax: (734) 205-0571 www.ford.utexas.edu This piece of the Berlin Wall was given to Gerald Ford " . . . Ford had prided himself on seeking common ground. 'It's all right to be a partisan,' he told one youthful White House aide, 'but not a zealot.'"-Richard Norton SmithIn the penultimate years of his life, Gerald Ford often decried the loss of civility poisoning American politics. During his years on Capitol Hill and, subsequently, as president grappling with the demons released by Vietnam and Watergate, Ford had prided himself on seeking common ground. "It's all right to be a partisan," he told one youthful White House aide, "but not a zealot." In part this was generational; like his youthful House colleagues Jack Kennedy and d.i.c.k Nixon, Ford's pragmatic outlook was shaped by his World War II experiences, and by the subsequent Cold War consensus that subordinated domestic differences to the superpower rivalry. Ironically, when the Berlin Wall came down in 1989, so did many of our self-imposed restraints. The Cold War gave way to Culture Wars, more intensely waged than disputes over economic or foreign policy, if only because the ground being contested involved values rather than numbers. Against this increasingly polarized backdrop, presidents as dissimilar as Bill Clinton and George W. Bush found their legitimacy disputed in terms bordering on the apocalyptic.This wasn't Gerald Ford's style. His funeral would serve to remind his countrymen of a time, not so distant, when success in politics was defined as narrowing differences, not exploiting them. First things first. "Keep it simple," Mrs. Ford remarked at an early planning meeting I attended, "and remember the family." The Fords selected favorite verses of scripture to be read, and hymns that had special meaning for them. The marvelous mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves accepted an invitation to perform The Lord's Prayer at Washington's National Cathedral. Penciled in for the Grand Rapids church service was the Army Chorus. Though generally amenable to the program outlined by military planners, Ford was adamantly opposed to a horse drawn caisson on Const.i.tution Avenue, or anywhere else. Efforts to change his mind met with a predictable stone wall of resistance. Not only did we remember the family; the family had its own defining memories. In lieu of the aforementioned caisson, the hea.r.s.e carrying the former president's remains would drive through Alexandria neighborhoods in which the Fords had once lived. Later it would pause at the recently completed World War II Memorial, affording veterans an opportunity to salute their colleague and former commander-in-chief.Again breaking with tradition, at the Capitol the casket would enter the building on the House side, this in recognition of Ford's quarter century pursuit of the one Washington job he really wanted-Speaker of the House. Once the period of public viewing concluded, he would leave by way of the Senate, a symbolic tribute to his unique status as a Man of the House who also presided, however briefly, over The Other Body. Among his Washington eulogists, Ford counter-intuitively wished to include a journalist. His original choice, Time's Hugh Sidey, died before he could carry out his a.s.signment. A worthy replacement was identified in Tom Brokaw, whose career as a White House correspondent coincided with the Ford presidency. By the time these plans were actually implemented, they seemed almost eerily prescient; rarely had Americans been so divided as at the end of 2006. The ceremonies attending the death of a president long out of office, and not much in the public eye of late, provided an opportunity to come together.Michigan was to be a homecoming, with Air Force One flying low over the Ann Arbor football stadium where young Junie Ford had attracted notice from pro scouts. Greeting the plane's arrival in Grand Rapids, the Wolverine band offered a solemn rendition of Hail to the Victors, the Michigan fight song that had briefly displaced Hail to the Chief in the autumn of 1974. That night over 60,000 people braved the January cold, in lines stretching two miles from the Ford Museum where the town's favorite son pa.s.sed his final night. Don Rumsfeld spoke at the concluding church service on January 3, but so did Jimmy Carter, recalling in moving words his unlikely friendship with the man he defeated in the 1976 election. (Anyone questioning the depth of feeling between this political odd couple should have seen President Carter pacing the aisles of Air Force One while cradling Gerald Ford's infant great-grandchild in his arms.)In my own concluding remarks, I recalled the 2001 presentation to Ford of the John F. Kennedy Profiles in Courage Award in recognition of his politically-suicidal decision to pardon Richard Nixon. Eight years later, Ted Kennedy's generous words on that occasion came back to me as Americans marked the senator's pa.s.sing and reflected on yet another historical chapter closed. More than mere bipartisanship, such linkages attest not only to the democracy of death, but to the lifeblood of democracy. They invite reflection on what is transitory and what is timeless. Can you think of a better definition of perspective?-RNS[image]Richard Norton Smith at the Ford Museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan

Jimmy Carter Thirty-ninth President - 1977-1981 Born: October 1, 1924, in Plains, Georgia Presidential library and museum: The Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum, Atlanta, Georgia Admission to Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum: $8.00 Jimmy Carter's last day as president was a race against the clock. On January 20, 1981, after months of intense negotiations, Iran signaled that it was prepared to free fifty-two American hostages who had been held for 444 days. But an hour and a half before noon on inauguration day, Iran had still not released the plane with the hostages on board. Time had run out for the Carter administration. At 10:45 a.m., Rosalynn Carter entered the Oval Office to tell her husband that the Reagans were arriving; it was time to pack up and dress for the ceremonies. At 12:33 p.m., as Ronald Reagan concluded his inaugural address, the Secret Service alerted Jimmy Carter that Iran had released the plane. Mr. Carter would later write in his memoirs Keeping Faith Keeping Faith, "I was overwhelmed with happiness-but because of the hostages' freedom, not mine."

Following his successor's inauguration, Jimmy Carter returned to his hometown of Plains, Georgia. Since then, Jimmy Carter has stayed active in international affairs, written over fifteen books, and is a regular volunteer for Habitat for Humanity, a nonprofit organization that builds homes for low-income families.

The entrance to Carter Presidential Center in Atlanta On October 2, 1984, Jimmy Carter broke ground outside of downtown Atlanta for his largest project--the Carter Library and Museum and the Carter Center. The museum recently underwent a $10 million overhaul and formally reopened to the public on President Carter's eighty-fifth birthday, October 1, 2009. It now devotes more s.p.a.ce than any other presidential library to life after the Oval Office; about a third of the museum is dedicated to Mr. Carter's life after he was defeated by Ronald Reagan in 1980. Since its original opening, the museum has drawn thousands of visitors annually. Researchers at the Carter Center, housed in the same complex, can explore issues such as human rights, conflict resolution, and health policy.

This statue on the grounds of the complex commemorates Carter's battle against the guinea worm in Africa Mr. Carter is not likely to be buried at his library, saying in a 2006 C-SPAN interview that he and Rosalynn would be buried near their home in Plains, Georgia. "Plains is special to us. I could be buried in Arlington Cemetery or wherever I want, but my wife was born here and I was born here."

As for his place in history Jimmy Carter would like to "... be remembered for things that [I] did that contributed to peace and human rights. I'd like people to understand that I have been honest and truthful, that I've loved the simpler things of life." In 2002, Mr. Carter was awarded the n.o.bel Peace Prize for his work promoting human rights and international peace.

The museum houses a replica of Carter's Oval Office Touring the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum and The Carter Center The Carter Library and Museum and the Carter Center are located in one complex in Atlanta, Georgia, two miles from downtown. The Library and Museum is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Admission to the Library and Museum is $8.00 for adults, $6.00 for senior citizens, military, and students with ID, and free for children age sixteen and under.

To reach the complex from the north or south: Take Interstate 75/85 to exit 248C, the Freedom Parkway. Follow the signs to the Carter Complex.

From the east or west: Take I-20 to Moreland Avenue North. Turn left on Freedom Parkway. Follow the signs to the Carter Complex.

For additional information The Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum 441 Freedom Parkway Atlanta, Georgia 30307-1498 Phone: (404) 865-7100 www.jimmycarterlibrary.org

The Carter Center 453 Freedom Parkway Atlanta, GA 30307 (404) 331-3900.

www.cartercenter.org

Ronald Reagan Buried: Ronald Reagan Library, Simi Valley, California Fortieth President-1981-1989 Born: February 6, 1911, in Tampico, Illinois Died: 1:00 p.m. on June 5, 2004, in Bel-Air, California Age at death: 93 Cause of death: pneumonia, complicated by Alzheimer's disease Final words: Unknown Admission to Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum: $12.00 On January 20, 1989, Ronald Reagan took a final look at the Oval Office and remarked how bare it was. The fortieth president had served two terms in office, survived an a.s.sa.s.sination attempt, and at the age of seventy-seven was the oldest man to leave the presidency. He watched as his vice president, George Bush, took the oath to succeed him. Then, Ronald Reagan, the most popular president to leave the White House since Dwight D. Eisenhower, retired to his ranch in Bel Air, California.

Ronald Reagan selected one hundred acres of undeveloped land, high in the Simi foothills, north of Los Angeles for the site of his library and museum. On November 4, 1991, former presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and President George Bush attended the dedication of the Ronald Reagan Library and Museum. Reagan told his audience, "The doors of this library are open now and all are welcome. The judgment of history is left to you-the people. I have no fears of that, for we have done our best...."

A piece of the Berlin Wall, the subject of one of Ronald Reagan's most famous speeches The library and museum contains 50 million doc.u.ments relating to Reagan's presidency. There is a wall of movie posters from Reagan's Hollywood years featuring Bedtime for Bonzo Bedtime for Bonzo, Stallion Road, Stallion Road, and and Hasty Heart Hasty Heart, and photos of young Reagan as a life guard, a radio sports announcer, and a movie star. Visitors also can see a replica of the Oval Office, watch a panoramic video on Reagan's legacy, and read a telegram to Reagan from the parents of his attempted a.s.sa.s.sin John Hinckley. The First Lady's Gallery details Nancy Reagan's life and contributions.

The Ronald Reagan Library and Museum is located in the hills of Simi Valley, California In November 1994, Ronald Reagan wrote a formal farewell letter to the country, revealing that he was afflicted with Alzheimer's disease and would be leaving public life. He wrote, "When the Lord calls me home whenever that may be, I will leave with the greatest love for this country of ours and eternal optimism for its future. I now begin the journey that will lead me into the sunset of my life. I know that for America there will always be a bright dawn ahead."

Ronald Reagan pa.s.sed away on June 5, 2004, at his home in Bel-Air, California, at the age of ninety-three. His wife, Nancy, and two of his children, Ron and Patti, were by his side. Only one president, Gerald Ford, lived longer. Reagan's pa.s.sing touched off a week of memorial ceremonies ranging from Southern California to Washington, D.C., and back again. Following a brief, private ceremony for family members at his presidential library in Simi Valley, California, the public was first able to pay their respects as Reagan's casket lay in repose; over 100,000 mourners visited the library over the course of two days.

The rose garden in front of the Reagan gravesite Ronald Reagan is buried in this tomb bearing the presidential seal From California, Nancy Reagan accompanied her husband's casket on a flight to Washington, D.C., for the first state funeral held since Lyndon Johnson's in 1973. In the Capitol rotunda, Reagan's casket was displayed on a catafalque built in 1865 for the funeral of Abraham Lincoln. Mourners waited in line for hours to file past the coffin. President George W. Bush declared Friday, June 11, a day of mourning as Reagan's cortege proceeded from the Capitol along a five-mile route to the National Cathedral. Thousands of onlookers lined the D.C. streets. The service drew notable statesmen and-women from around the world, including all living former presidents and first ladies, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and Russia's Mikhail Gorbachev. The coffin was flown back to California, where Ronald Reagan was buried at his presidential library during a sunset service for 700 guests.

Touring the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum The Ronald Reagan Library and Museum, in Simi Valley, California, is open daily, excluding Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Admission is $12.00 for adults, $9.00 for senior citizens, $3.00 for children ages eleven to seventeen, and free for children ages ten and under.

From Los Angeles and points south: Take I-405 North toward Sacramento to 118 West. Exit at Madera Road South, then turn right on Madera and proceed three miles to Presidential Drive.

From Santa Barbara and points north: Take 101 South to 23 North and exit at Olsen Road. Turn right on Olsen and proceed two miles to Presidential Drive.

Follow Presidential Drive up the hill to the library and look for parking signs.

For additional information The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum 40 Presidential Drive Simi Valley, CA 93065 Phone: (800) 410-8354 www.reagan.utexas.edu " . . . . . . Reagan himself had often likened politics to show business."-Richard Norton Smith Though ill with Alzheimer's disease for nearly a decade at the time of his death in June 2004, Ronald Reagan had enjoyed a renaissance of popular and scholarly approval. Against the twilight of Reagan's slow fade, many a journalist and academic-some more grudgingly than others-came to reconsider dismissive a.s.sessments made at the end of the Reagan presidency. This was not without irony, since Reagan himself had often likened politics to show business. In both occupations, he liked to say, success required a big opening and an equally dramatic close. As good as his word, when he slipped away on June 5, it was not before a stunning moment of emotional connection with the woman who had shared his life for nearly half a century. As Nancy Reagan looked on, her husband opened his eyes before he closed them for the last time. He saw her. His wordless gesture communicated volumes to those by his bedside.While the circ.u.mstances surrounding this president's pa.s.sing could not have differed more from the horror and convulsive grief of November 1963, there was in both deaths a sense of history transcending mere headlines, of legends in the making. For millions of admirers, Ronald Reagan had become an iconic figure. Sensing the climax of a decisive chapter in the national story, they lined up for hours to ride buses to the mountaintop Reagan Library in Simi Valley, forty miles northwest of Los Angeles. They stood five-and six-deep on the streets of Washington, a town not generally seen as a hotbed of Reaganesque politics. At such times presidential historians find themselves much in demand. As a former director of the Reagan Presidential Library, I returned my share of press calls that week. But I also wanted to get out of the television studio, to experience for myself the street level response generated by Reagan's pa.s.sing.So a little after 8 o'clock on a warm June evening I joined the shuffling line outside the Capitol waiting to pay its respects. It snaked down the Hill, past the charging bronze figure of Ulysses S. Grant, beyond the granite lined pools of water which imperfectly connect the sloping Capitol grounds to the adjoining Mall. The moonlit dome, rushed to completion as a symbol of national unity amidst a brutal civil war, provided the perfect backdrop for a National Review Woodstock. By the time I walked into the rotunda, shortly before two in the morning, I had conversed with dozens of strangers, many barely old enough to have personal recollections of a presidency that had ended fifteen years before. There were families with strollers and military personnel in uniform; a carload of college kids who had driven from New Jersey; a woman from Missouri, who hadn't slept since leaving home an indeterminate number of hours earlier. Periodically cameramen and microphone-wielding journalists invaded our ranks. Reagan stories were told. Old recordings of speeches drifted on the soft spring night. A friend's cell phone allowed us to share the experience with the randomly called. journalists invaded our ranks. Reagan stories were told. Old recordings of speeches drifted on the soft spring night. A friend's cell phone allowed us to share the experience with the randomly called.[image]Nancy Reagan is presented with an American flag at her husband's funeralIt was one of those increasingly rare water cooler moments, a melange of patriotic pride and spirituality and the humbling perspective that comes with confronting our mortality. But if politics were briefly adjourned, democracy was not. Even now, angry, sometimes profane dissents were being registered online and via that defining instrument of electronic populism, the call-in show. Appearing the next day on C-SPAN's Washington Journal I received a couple such jabs myself. Would similar abuse, I wondered, albeit from the opposite end of the political spectrum, have greeted the demise of Jimmy Carter or Bill Clinton? Probably. For in the uber partisan climate of recent years-wherein adversaries are routinely treated as enemies, and the clash of ideas can all too easily morph into ideological jihad-death itself cannot instill good manners, let along the unity of grief.-RNS

George Bush Forty-first President - 1989-1993 Born: June 12, 1924, in Milton, Ma.s.sachusetts Presidential library and museum: The George Bush Presidential Library and Museum, College Station, Texas Admission to George Bush Presidential Library and Museum: $7.00 On January 20, 1989, George Herbert Walker Bush became the first inc.u.mbent vice president to ascend to the presidency since Martin Van Buren in 1836. Mr. Bush continued to follow in Van Buren's footsteps by losing his bid for a second term. On January 20, 1993, George Bush watched Bill Clinton take the oath of office and then retired to his adopted hometown of Houston, Texas. "It's been one h.e.l.l of a ride," he told a crowd of five hundred people who arrived at the airport to welcome him home.

Since retiring, Mr. Bush has taken a few flying leaps-out of a plane. On March 25, 1997, George Bush began celebrating milestone birthdays by parachuting out of an airplane-this jump over the Arizona desert. After reaching the ground safely, he told reporters, "It was wonderful. I'm a new man. I go home exhilarated." He jumped again, over his presidential library, for his eightieth birthday, and marked his eighty-fifth birthday, on June 12, 2009, with a jump over Maine.

As a World War II navy pilot, he had been forced to bail out of his crippled bomber, badly cutting himself and tearing his chute. The two crewmen with him died.

The George Bush Presidential Library and Museum is located on the grounds of Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas The parachute Mr. Bush used for his jump during World War II can be seen, along with exhibits chronicling the life and times of the forty-first president, in the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum in College Station, Texas. The library and museum, located on ninety acres of the Texas A&M University campus, was dedicated on November 6, 1997. The library contains more than 40 million of President Bush's papers. The museum features a model of George Bush's Camp David office, displays some of the eighty thousand gifts received by the Bushes, and recreates key events from Bush's White House years.

George and Barbara Bush plan to be buried at the library. Their tomb is already constructed, and located at the back of the library. Made from Texas limestone, it is surrounded by a wrought iron gate decorated with the Star of Texas.

Since leaving the White House, the former president and first lady have traveled to over forty-five countries and done extensive fundraising for charities. "There is no way Barbara and I can be happier in our private lives, none," Mr. Bush has said. "After thirty years in politics, I don't miss it." But he is proud that his sons George W. and Jeb entered the political arena. "If it weren't for [my sons' public service], I might have some kind of itch, not about running again but maybe more involvement."

With the 2000 election, George Bush entered the history books again, joining John Adams as the only presidents to have their sons elected to the presidency. On January 20, 2001, a teary-eyed George Herbert Walker Bush stood watching as his son, George W. Bush, took the oath of office on the west front of the U.S. Capitol.

Touring the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum This bridge leads to the site where George and Barbara Bush will be buried The George Bush Library and Museum in College Station, Texas is open daily except Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day. Hours are Monday through Sat.u.r.day, 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and Sundays from noon to 5:00 p.m. Admission to the museum is $7.00 for adults, $3.00 for students, $6.00 for senior citizens, and free for children under six.

To reach the library from Houston: Take I-45 North to Conroe. In Conroe, take 105 West to Navasota. From Navasota, follow Highway 6 North to Bryan/College Station. Take the Business 6/Texas Avenue exit. At the second light, take a left onto FM 2818. Go approximately four miles, then take a right onto George Bush Drive. The entrance to the Bush Library is on the left.

To reach the library from Dallas: Take I-45 South to Madisonville and take Route 21 West to Bryan/College Station. At the junction of Route 21 and FM 2818, take a left onto FM 2818. Continue on for approximately six miles, then turn left onto George Bush Drive. The entrance to the Bush Library is on the left.

For additional information The George Bush Presidential Library and Museum 1000 George Bush Drive West College Station, TX 77845 Phone: (979) 691-4000 Fax: (979) 691-4050 TTY: (979) 691-4091.

www.bushlibrary.tamu.edu This presidential seal marks the future gravesite

William Jefferson Clinton Forty-second President - 1993-2001 Born: August 19, 1946, in Hope, Arkansas Presidential Library and Museum: Little Rock, Arkansas On On January 20, 2001, Bill Clinton watched as his successor, George W. Bush, took the oath of office. At age fifty-four, he became one of the youngest men to leave the presidency. The former president and Mrs. Clinton moved to Chappaqua, New York, and Mrs. Clinton entered the history books as the first former first lady to be elected to the U.S. Senate. After her own presidential bid, Hillary Clinton was appointed to another president's cabinet, serving as Barack Obama's secretary of state.

On February 12, 1997, Bill Clinton joined the ranks of other modern presidents in overseeing the creation of his presidential library. Mr. Clinton announced his selection of Little Rock, Arkansas, as the library's future site. Little Rock is not the president's hometown, but the Arkansas capital was his political epicenter in the years before he came to Washington. Bill Clinton served as the state's attorney general for two years and as its governor for almost twelve years before being elected president in 1992.

Boyhood home of Bill Clinton The Clinton Foundation broke ground for the Presidential Center on December 5, 2001, located on twenty-seven acres of downtown land along the south bank of the Arkansas River, which had been offered by the city of Little Rock. The center opened on November 18, 2004, with a ceremony that included speeches from former presidents George Bush and Jimmy Carter and the sitting president, George W. Bush. Bono of the rock band U2 performed and Nelson Mandela sent a video message as part of the rain-soaked ceremony.

Like most presidential libraries, President Clinton's is operated by the National Archives and Records Administration. Its archives are the largest in American presidential history, holding over 78 million pages of personal papers and official doc.u.ments and two million photographs. The complex also includes a museum with a full-scale replica of the Oval Office, a timeline of the Clinton presidency, and other exhibits about life in the Clinton White House. The complex is also home to the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service and will serve as a research and education facility on policy initiatives.

The Clinton presidential library is located in his home state of Arkansas Although not an announced part of the Clinton library's planning, it is likely that the site will serve, as have other presidential libraries, as Bill Clinton's final resting place.

Bill Clinton was the only Democrat since Franklin Roosevelt to be elected to a second term in his own right. On December 19, 1998, he also made history as the second president to be impeached by the U.S. House of Representatives, which pa.s.sed one count of perjury and another of obstruction of justice. The Senate later voted, largely along party lines, to acquit. Asked about his legacy during a 1997 interview for NBC's Meet the Press Meet the Press, President Clinton remarked, "I think a president's legacy is ultimately determined after he's gone from office, and maybe after he's gone from this earth, when people can read all the records and see the real significance of what happened with the benefit of hindsight and without any prejudice for or against [that individual]."

After leaving office in 2001, Bill Clinton has pursued an active post-presidency. He opened an office in Harlem and travels extensively for charity causes and public speaking engagements. In 2004, he published a best-selling autobiography, My Life My Life. That year, he was diagnosed with heart disease, resulting in quadruple bypa.s.s surgery. In 2005, he formed the Clinton Global Initiative, an organization that aims to bring together government and business leaders, charities, and non-profit organizations to address issues such as poverty, health, education, and climate change.

Touring the William J. Clinton Presidential Center The William J. Clinton Presidential Center is open daily except Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day. Hours are Monday through Sat.u.r.day, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and Sunday 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Admission to the Clinton Center is $7.00 for adults, $5.00 for senior citizens, $5.00 for college students (with valid ID), $3.00 for youth ages six to seventeen, and free for children under six. Admission price for retired military personnel is $5.00 and active military is free. The Center offers four free admission days each year: President's Day, the Fourth of July, the Sat.u.r.day prior to President Clinton's birthday (August 19), and the Sat.u.r.day prior to the Center's Grand Opening anniversary (November 18). Audio tours narrated by President Clinton can be purchased for an additional $3.00.