General Graham, the founder of High Frontier, first worked with then Governor Reagan in the 1976 campaign for the Republican nomination for the presidency as a defense and national security advisor. During the 1979 primaries, General Graham again joined the Reagan team and helped the Governor secure the Republican nomination for the presidency- most notably in February of 1980 at Nashua, New Hampshire where General Graham provided Governor Reagan with the vital ammunition used to defeat George Bush in the now famous debate there.
President Reagan had always been receptive to the idea of defenses as opposed to that of Mutually Assured Destruction. In a 1976 stop at Cheyenne Mountain- NORAD Headquarters, the Governor was dismayed when he learned that although NORAD Generals could track any missile fired against the United States, they could do nothing to stop it. Reagan asked the Generals running Cheyenne, Can't you military men come up with something better than mutually assured destruction? As President, Reagan was committed to looking for an answer. He found it in High Frontier.
On March 23, 1983, President Reagan publicly embraced the High Frontier concept of Assured Survival in his speech on Defense and National Security. The next day, President Reagan called the High Frontier office to congratulate General Graham. President Reagan's support has been behind High Frontier ever since.
President Reagan has renewed his support of High Frontier in letters and telephone calls numerous times. We were most pleased to hear from President Reagan on both our fifth and tenth anniversaries. However, as the joy of our twentieth anniversary this September draws near, we would rather send our support to President Reagan, Nancy, and the rest of the Reagan family as they continue to boldly struggle against Alzheimer's Disease. Our prayers are with them.
