An emotional Nancy Reagan said Wednesday that a bronze statue of her late husband that will rest permanently in the Capitol Rotunda is "a wonderful likeness" of the nation's 40th president.
"He would be so proud," said the teary-eyed former first lady.
Mrs. Reagan recalled that the last time she was in the Capitol was for her husband's funeral. Reagan, who died at age 93 in 2004, lay in state in the Rotunda.
"It's nice to be back under happier circumstances," she said.
Mrs. Reagan and a cast of policymakers who served in former President Ronald Reagan's administration watched Wednesday as a blue cloth was removed to unveil the 7-foot figure, which will be placed alongside statues of other American heroes.
Mrs. Reagan, 87 and recovering from a hip operation, looked at the bronze figure approvingly, then reached out and lovingly touched its leg.
The sculpture, designed by American artist Chas Fagan of North Carolina, depicts Reagan's arm resting on a column featuring eagles and a "torch of freedom."
Cast in Everdur Silicon Bronze and weighing 500 pounds, the figure is mounted on a 3-foot-high marble pedestal that contains the California governor's seal on one side and the presidential seal on the other.
Shards of the Berlin Wall have been included in the stone cap of the base in recognition of Reagan's contributions to the fall of communism.
The statue will become part of the National Statuary Hall Collection, which is made up of two statues donated by individual states to honor notable men and women in each state's history.
During the unveiling ceremony Wednesday, family and friends celebrated the life and legacy of Reagan, who was president from 1981 to 1989.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell and others said the Capitol is a fitting place to honor Reagan, who understood that bipartisanship and civility were an important part of debate.
Pelosi also paid tribute to Mrs. Reagan, not only for her support of the president "but for turning that support and love into action."
Since her husband's death, Mrs. Reagan has been a strong advocate for stem-cell and Alzheimer's research, which afflicted her husband for a decade before his passing.
On Tuesday, Mrs. Reagan returned to the White House to watch President Obama sign a law that will create a commission to help honor her late husband.
The 11-member panel will recommend and carry out plans to celebrate what would have been the former president's 100th birthday on Feb. 6, 2011.
No federal money can be spent on the commission or its activities, which might include issuing special stamps or commemorative coins.
E-mail Michael Collins of Scripps Howard News Service at collinsm(at)shns.com.
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, http://www.scrippsnews.com)
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