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                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, January 14, 1993                   TAG: 9301140219
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 5   EDITION: METRO  
SOURCE: From wire reports
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

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PEOPLE

Ronald Reagan took one last bow in the White House on Wednesday, courtesy of the man who succeeded him and will follow him shortly into retirement.

President Bush draped the nation's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, around Reagan's neck in an emotional East Room ceremony.

"Today we honor the American life of an American original," said Bush. Playing upon an immortal line from an old Reagan movie, Bush added, "as president, Ronald Reagan helped win one for freedom both at home and abroad."

Bush called the 40th president "my friend and mentor" as well as "a true American hero."

Reagan, 81, listened in the front row between his wife, Nancy Reagan, and Barbara Bush.

"Few people believed more in liberty's inevitable triumph than Ronald Reagan. None was more a prophet in his time," said Bush. "Millions thank God today that you were in the White House."

Reagan said, "We saw an America where most people still believed in the power of a better tomorrow. Together we got the government off the backs of the American people."

"We have every reason to be proud of what we accomplished together," he said.

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