Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall

Judge Ralph Perk Jr. introduced Terrence J. Smith for a special presentation at the American Nationalities Movement of Ohio’s 56th annual Captive Nations Dinner on July 20, 2017. 

Mr. Smith gave a recreation of Ronald Reagan's June 12, 1987 speech at the Brandenburg Gate in Germany.

Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.

Video of the Reagan Brandenburg Gate speech recreation

Terrence J. Smith

Christmas 1981 - A Flame for Freedom in Poland

It was 30 years ago, December 13, 1981, that martial law was imposed upon Poland by the communist government. Poles were aghast, horrified, frightened. And so was the man in Rome, a Polish native named John Paul II, and so was another man thousands of miles away in Washington, DC, President Ronald Reagan.

When word of the communists’ actions reached the White House, President Reagan was furious. He wanted to help the people of Poland in any way he could. At that very moment, Reagan committed to save and sustain the Polish Solidarity movement as the wedge that could splinter the entire Soviet bloc, as the first crack in the Iron Curtain.

“May I ask you a favor, Mr. President? Would you light a candle and put in the window tonight for the people of Poland?”

Read the eyewitness account of that special night