The 106th anniversary of President Lyndon Baines Johnson’s birth brought dignitaries to the LBJ National Historical Park for the wreath laying at his grave. Among them (from left) were retired Air Force Brig. Gen. James U. Cross (USAF, ret.), Johnson’s Air Force One pilot, and Luci Baines Johnson. — Standard-Radio Post/Richard Zowie
By Richard Zowie —
Students, dignitaries and countless well wishers paid their respects at President Lyndon Baines Johnson’s grave Aug. 27 at a ceremony commemorating his 106th birthday.
President Johnson’s daughter, Luci Baines Johnson, attended the event, as did 92-year-old Brig. Gen. James U. Cross (USAF, ret.), who served as LBJ’s Air Force One pilot.
Among the students were third- through fifth-grade students from Stonewall Elementary School, along with students from Lackland Air Force Base’s Defense Language Institute.
At the end of the ceremony, the former first daughter spoke to the crowd about her father and his legacy. She also spoke directly with the Stonewall students following the ceremony.
The standing room-only event, for Johnson, said a lot about her father’s life and career.
“It leaves my eyes out on stems and a very grateful heart, for his 106th birthday, to have as many people out here to say ‘You made a difference.’ What a gift to my life,” she said of the crowd. “Nobody loved his birthday more than Lyndon Johnson, and to know that so many people came to celebrate his life so very well-lived and to say thank you and to dedicate themselves to the work left to be done, Lyndon Johnson would be extremely grateful.”
For more on this story, read this week’s print and online editions of the Fredericksburg Standard-Radio Post. If you are a print subscriber, your full online subscription is free. All you need to do is call 830-997-2155 to get a password. If you are not a subscriber, call 997-2155 or click on the ‘Subscribe’ button on the left side of the home page and sign up today!