Even though he was 73 years old, a World War II veteran, and serving as President of the United States at the time, Ronald Reagan received a letter from the Marine Corps in 1984, asking him if he would like to enlist.
It may have been a clerical error or just a practical joke from the service to its commander-in-chief, or, in the words of Reagan in his response, the result of “a lance corporal’s overactive imagination.” In any case, the U.S. Marine Corps Historical Company shared on its Facebook page the letter he sent back to then-Commandant Gen. Paul X. Kelley on May 31, 1984, and well, it’s classic.
“I regret that I must decline the attached invitation to enlist in the United States Marine Corps,” Reagan writes on official White House letterhead. “As proud as I am of the inference concerning my physical fitness, it might be better to continue as Commander-in-Chief. Besides, at the present time it would be rather difficult to spend ten weeks at Parris Island.”
With his trademark wit, Reagan noted that the Democrats would probably appreciate it if he left the White House, but he had to pass since his wife, Nancy, loved their current residence, and Reagan himself was “totally satisfied with his job.”
“Would you consider a deferment until 1989?” Reagan wrote. (It’s worth noting that Reagan served stateside in the U.S. Army Air Force’s first motion picture unit during World War II).
Check out the full letter below:
