Sec. Caspar Weinberger will always be remembered for his service as Pres. Reagan’s Defense Secretary at a critical time in our history. Reagan decided to stand on principle, and fight the spread of evil in the form of Communist totalitarianism. Weinberger was one of his most important lieutenants in the American victory over Soviet expansionism. In that role, Weinberger often made the intellectual case for western democracy, and managed the administrative details of freedom’s democracy with equal skill.
I never met the Secretary, but I thought I was going to. My company is publishing his book Home of the Brave: Honoring the Unsung Heroes in the War on Terror, written in collaboration with Wynton C. Hall. I actually read an earlier manuscript version of these gripping accounts of heroism from Iraq and Afghanistan, and recommend the book highly, despite my obvious conflict of interest.
Sec. Weinberger took a vital role in defense and foreign policy debates through his final days, as Home of the Brave proves. While it is sad when a great American dies, it is often an opportunity to teach younger generations about their accomplishments. It was so with Pres. Reagan’s passing, and hopefully it will be the case with his Defense Secretary as well.
