President Reagan having Lunch with Military Personnel at Camp David on May 23, 1987

[Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] anybody's still eating go ahead don't let me interrupt you I appreciate very much having an opportunity to come down here and join you ate more than I usually eat for lunch I'll try to make up for that days ahead listen I just appreciate the chance to say thanks to all of you for how easy you all make it for us when we come here and how much we enjoy coming here but the things that you do we look forward to that Christmas tree every year that we find all decorated in the house and other things of that kind and we're very grateful believe me and now I have to tell you a little story that'll explain what I'm gonna say next was back at Caesars time and they turned the Christians loose into the Colosseum and then loosed the hungry lions on them and the Lions came roaring toward them and one man stepped out from the little huddle of people and said something quietly and the Lions all lay down well the crowd got mad they weren't going to see any blood and they were very upset and Caesar was angry and he had him bring the man that had talked up to him and he said what did you say to the Lions that made him act like that he said I just told him that after they ate there'd be speeches well there won't be any speech but I just thought keep you long here but maybe some time or other when you're doing some of those nice things for UPS you said I'd like some times I had a chance to ask him well go ahead if you've ever thought of any questions you'd like to ask whatever it's about fire away and maybe I won't do a monologue here we'll have a dialogue just sing out anyone that's got a question honest I'm not in uniform I'm just a civilian I thing you haven't thought of anyone that wasn't mark well well I haven't got any speech to make or anything commander you've got a question who's my favorite actor well years ago from the standpoint of acting ability my favorite actor was Spencer Tracy I think he was one of the great actors of all time in the standpoint of just admiring the guys there are two of them that stand very high and one of them is Jimmy Stewart was still around and the other one was Duke Wayne I kind of liked Dukes approach to life and he was just the way that you saw him on the screen he was that way he was he was a great guy Jimmy Stewart I little story when I was campaigning in 1980 Jimmy Stewart went out on the campaign trail with me and he would introduce me in some of these fundraising banquets but then he in turn of course would first be introduced by the master of ceremonies the local fella and every time they'd introduce him as the great actor and everything that he was and every time I would when I after Jimmy had introduced me I was say to the man if you don't mind I would like these people to know also that in Hollywood we respect Jimmy Stewart because Jimmy Stewart is major-general Jimmy Stewart in the Air Force and was was that flying a b-17 in the in the bombing runs over Hamburg in World War two well one night I the the emcee did mention it and said Brigadier General Jimmy Stewart and I got up and said I'm like I'm sorry but I have to correct you it's Major General Jimmy Stewart when we got back to the hotel that night Jimmy said that that that fellow was right it is Brigadier he says I just never corrected you before because it sounded so good somebody else with a question yes I thought it was great and you had my very favorite food of all time macaroni and cheese no it was it was great thank you I'm since I don't have us act of a life anymore as these fellows do though I'm glad that I don't have an opportunity to get at that kind of food every noon sitting there at an office desk usually I may get a bowl of soup except for dessert I'm a dessert man yes Oh somebody here said the Celtics no I'll tell ya I don't get enough time anymore to keep track of what's going on in the leagues and even then in in the college university ball so I just usually kind of have to wait until they find out what what has happened instead of predicting and besides you know in the present job I've got I'm not supposed to have any favorites somebody else nothing about the budget or they well you're worried about you know high school graduate in 1964 I graduated in 28 do you say I signed your Oh Oh for heaven's sakes yes now I do remember yes well glad to be able to do it I don't get to do things like that very much anymore I think about the last time I got to hand him out was at Annapolis and then shook a thousand and fifty hands anyone else yeah well I won't keep you then I know you've got things to do and I mean I hope that you weren't sitting there with a question and just reluctant to ask it because I enjoy this very much and you haven't asked a one about the job or what we're doing anything of that kind well thank you all again for all that you do for us here and we look forward to these next 20 months and hope we can get here more often than we have in the last several weeks there's been a long stretch for us when we don't get here very often we feel we're being put upon by the people down in Washington so god bless you all thank you all [Music] thank you all

Channel: Reagan Library

Views: 597,389

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Keywords: U.S. National Archives, Ronald Reagan, Reagan Presidential Library, Camp David, Maryland, Military, eating

Id: iFNlDHhDqek

Length: 13min 23sec (803 seconds)

Published: Fri Oct 27 2017