Post by "BIGTYME" on Jun 8, 2004 3:48:34 GMT -5
Wilson reports Reagan is receiving formal California state military honors. (Audio)
SIMI VALLEY, Calif. (AP) -- Some came in their Sunday best, while others looked ready to hit the beach in shorts and flip-flops.
All fell silent at the first glimpse of the flag-draped casket of Ronald Reagan.
The thousands of people who waited in line for hours to pass by the former president's coffin were a cross-section of America: retirees, business people, families, veterans.
"Reagan was truly the people's president and you can see it here," said Maura Ripsen of Anaheim Hills, who came with her husband Steve, son Sean, 6, and daughter Katherine, 23 months.
They were among more than 16,000 people who came to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library Monday to pay their respects to Reagan, who died Saturday at 93.
The public expression of sympathy began after Reagan's body, accompanied by wife Nancy Reagan, 82, and his children, was brought 40 miles from a Santa Monica mortuary by motorcade to the library in the Ventura County hills northwest of Los Angeles.
In a simple service, the Rev. Michael Wenning told the Reagan family, "As we were in procession, I couldn't help but think of the love and the outpouring that has begun in the nation for a great president, a great world leader and a faithful servant of almighty God."
After the service, Nancy Reagan walked to the casket and placed her left cheek to it. Her daughter, Patti Davis, hugged her tightly and other family members joined them around the casket.
The library then opened to throngs who were bused about five miles from a college that closed to provide parking. By evening the wait for buses had grown to hours as crowds sought to make the pilgrimage before the period of lying in repose ended at 6 p.m. Tuesday.
Among the first were Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and wife Maria Shriver, who stood silently, crossed themselves and left. But most of those who came were regular folks.
Patricia Roccaforte, 61, of Tustin, said Reagan had made her feel safe.
"I was praying the whole time he was alive we would live up to all he thought we could do," she said. "He was so optimistic about us. He's in the hands of God now - as he always has been."
Some of those passing the casket crossed themselves. A man in cowboy boots and jeans held his hat over his heart.
"On my way out, I saluted him - both of us did," said Don Procter, 83, a former Marine who came from Altadena with his wife Lorraine.
Though brief, the time in the library was enough for Scotia Alves, 51, of Camarillo, who said she and her husband started a car stereo company in their garage at the beginning of Reagan's presidency.
"Reaganomics was good for business. ... I felt gratitude to him," she said.
Charles Shelton, 38, a Los Angeles lawyer, was struck by the range of people.
"It's a testament, how broad his appeal was," said Shelton, who voted for Green Party candidate Ralph Nader in 2000 and plans to vote for Democrat John Kerry but called himself a "Reagan Republican."
"He's a different type of Republican," Shelton said. "The man was a very good man, very graceful, which made it easy to support him," he said. "He was tough, yet graceful."
Roxana Jones, 47, brought two daughters in school uniforms. One of them, Shanley, 15, said she learned in school about Reagan's fight against communism.
"He was just an awesome guy, and I call him my president," she said.
Leslie Williams, 48, of Mission Viejo, said she has been a Marine reservist since age 18.
"My commander-in-chief epitomized the will of the greatest country on Earth to pursue freedom for all freedom-loving people," she said.
Mandy Thom, 37, of Northridge waited three hours to pass Reagan's casket. She remembered most of Reagan's speech after the space shuttle Challenger exploded on Jan. 28, 1986.
"I think it was the way he came across in speeches that made the country feel safe even though something tragic had happened," Thom said.
Salvador Ayala, 74, came from Simi Valley with three other veterans.
"He won the Cold War without firing a shot. He was the greatest president that we ever had, and I'm a Democrat," said Ayala, who served in the Korean War.
On Wednesday, Reagan's body is to be flown to Washington, D.C., where there will be a ceremony that night in the Capitol Rotunda. The body will then lie in state.
Friday will be a national day of mourning, with all federal offices and major financial markets closed. The state funeral will be held at Washington National Cathedral, with President Bush delivering a eulogy.
The body will then be returned to the Reagan library for burial Friday evening.
