Ronald Reagan diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, an incurable neurological disorder which destroys brain cells and ultimately causes death. In November of that year, he informed the nation of the diagnosis through a handwritten letter, writing in part: After his diagnosis, letters of support from well-wishers poured into his California home. But there was also speculation over how long Reagan had demonstrated symptoms of mental degeneration. Not long after the attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan, at a reception for mayors, Reagan greeted his Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Samuel Pierce in 1981 by saying "How are you, Mr Mayor? How are things
Ronald Reagan Academy's Sylvanus Thayer Award. In 1981, Reagan was inducted as a Laureate of The Lincoln Academy of Illinois and awarded the Order of Lincoln (the state's highest honor) by the Governor of Illinois in the area of Government. In 1983, he received the highest distinction of the Scout Association of Japan, the Golden Pheasant Award. In 1989, Reagan was made an Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath, one of the highest British orders (this entitled him to the use of the post-nominal letters "GCB" but, as a foreign national, not to be known as "Sir Ronald