Barry Goldwater (Presidential Candidate) & Col Leon W Cray Typed Letter Signed

Description: Barry Goldwater - Typed Letter Signed (Presidential Candidate)Under his signature he listed his call sign of the international order of characters. Rare item.Came from Collection of Letters of which we have several you can compare signature to. Barry Morris Goldwater (January 2, 1909 – May 29, 1998) was a businessman and five-term United States Senator from Arizona (1953–65, 1969–87) and the Republican Party's nominee for president in the 1964 election. An articulate and charismatic figure during the first half of the 1960s, he was known as "Mr. Conservative". Goldwater is the politician most often credited for sparking the resurgence of the American conservative political movement in the 1960s. He also had a substantial impact on the libertarian movement. Goldwater rejected the legacy of the New Deal and fought through the conservative coalition against the New Deal coalition. He mobilized a large conservative constituency to win the hard-fought Republican primaries. Goldwater's right-wing campaign platform ultimately failed to gain the support of the electorate[3] and he lost the 1964 presidential election to incumbent Democrat Lyndon B. Johnson by one of the largest landslides in history, bringing down many Republican candidates as well. The Johnson campaign and other critics painted him as a reactionary, while supporters praised his crusades against the Soviet Union, labor unions, and the welfare state. His defeat allowed Johnson and the Democrats in Congress to pass the Great Society programs, but the defeat of so many older Republicans in 1964 also cleared the way for a younger generation of American conservatives to mobilize. Goldwater was much less active as a national leader of conservatives after 1964; his supporters mostly rallied behind Ronald Reagan, who became governor of California in 1967 and the 40th President of the United States in 1981. Goldwater returned to the Senate in 1969, and specialized in defense policy, bringing to the table his experience as a senior officer in the Air Force Reserve. In 1974, as an elder statesman of the party, Goldwater successfully urged President Richard Nixon to resign when evidence of a cover-up in the Watergate scandal became overwhelming and impeachment was imminent. By the 1980s, the increasing influence of the Christian right on the Republican Party so conflicted with Goldwater's views that he became a vocal opponent of the religious right on issues such as abortion, gay rights, and the role of religion in public life. A significant accomplishment in his career was the passage of the Goldwater-Nichols Act of 1986, which restructured the higher levels of the Pentagon by increasing the power of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to direct military action. Col. Leon W. Gray October 18, 1913 - November 26, 2007 Born in Lockney, Texas, Arizona's native son arrived at the age of 2. In 1934, he graduated from Tucson High School, Tucson, Arizona, excelling in football, boxing, and swimming. Leon Gray attended the University of Arizona on football scholarship, where he played right guard for the team under the infamous coaching of Tex Oliver. It was the only U of A football team to win a conference title outright. He was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity and graduated from the U of A in 1938. Col. Gray received his pilots' wings and commission from Aviation Cadet Training at Randolph and Kelly Fields, Texas in 1939. His first assignment was to a fighter group in Panama. World War II Gray was a highly decorated WW II veteran who flew photo reconnaissance missions (unarmed) in enemy airspace with the P-38 Lightning and British Mosquito in the European theater. He was co-commander with Elliott Roosevelt in North Africa, where upon, FDR stayed for dinner with his son and Leon on his way to Tunis for the Yalta Conference in 1943. Col. Gray was Commander of 12th Reconnaissance Squadron flying P-51 and Spitfire missions to northern Italy during the Trieste Crisis. He was also Commander of 25th Bomb Group, 8th AAF in Watton, England, 1944-1945. During the war, Col. Gray executed numerous outstanding missions, conspicuous for the sheer courage and daring of their executions. He voluntarily undertook the most difficult tasks and accomplished them with such consummate skill that he inspired outstanding results in all pilots of his group. He flew the first night mission and advanced the strategic and tactical value of photographic reconnaissance to an unprecedented degree. Col. Gray received the British Distinguished Flying Cross medal from King George VI at Buckingham Palace. 1946 and 1947: Stateside, March Field, California: Col. Gray piloted USAF's first operational jet, the F-80 Shooting Star (Beautiful Doll), along with Brig. Gen. Robin Olds, setting world speed record for the first transcontinental west coast/east coast and back within daylight hours. During this time he was the winner of the auspicious Bendix Transcontinental Trophy Race, jet division, 1946 and again in 1947, flying the P-80 Shooting Star in 4 hrs. 2 min. with an average speed of 507 mph. 1950 and 1951: Commander of Williams AFB, Arizona. It was here that he had a cameo role in the movie "Air Cadet" which was filmed on base and he did all the lead flying for the film. At this time, he established the Acrojets Flying Team - the first officially recognized USAF precursor to the Thunderbird Team which succeeded in 1953. 1955: Alaskan Air Command, Elmendorf, AFB - training and operations officer. 1958: Commander, 4700th Air Defense Wing, Geiger Field, Washington - the first mach 2 flying command in the world. In 1959 he was the winner of William Tell Worldwide Weapons meet (rocket and missile firing), flying the F-104 Starfighter jet. 1960: Commander, Portland Air Defense Sector, Adair Air Force Station, Oregon. 1963: Vice-Commander, 25th Air Division, McChord AFB, Washington. 1964: Commander, Phoenix Air Defense Sector, Luke AFB, Arizona. Col. Leon W. Gray retired in 1967 after 27 years active military service. He was enshrined into the Aviation Hall of Fame (Pima Air and Space Museum) in Tucson, Arizona, April 17, 1993. Col. Gray's decorations include but not limited to: Distinguished Service Cross, Silver Star, Legion of Merit with one Oak Leaf Cluster, Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal, British Distinguished Flying Cross, Croix de Guerre/Avec Palme, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with two Silver Stars and one Bronze Star, World War II Victory MedalFROM HIS BIO LINK:http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=23206972

Price: 150 USD

Location: Stamford, Connecticut

End Time: 2025-02-07T16:26:21.000Z

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