Who's Buried in Grant's Tomb__ A Tour of Presidential Gravesites - Brian Lamb [68]
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 massive 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 class, 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 title 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 Saturday, 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