Rest in peace, President James Earl "Jimmy" Carter Jr.

This is my only postcard of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, who died today at age 100. The postcard was published by Coral-Lee¹ and the caption on the back states:

"President and Mrs. Carter "take the wheel" of the U.S.S. Eisenhower during the president's inspection of the U.S. naval vessel. In the early 1950's Jimmy Carter served in the Navy and has often proudly related his experiences. Winston-Salem, N.C., March, 1978"

The man behind President Carter, I'm 99% sure, is Vice Admiral William E. Ramsey (1931-2018), who was the first commanding officer of the Eisenhower, a nuclear-powered Nimitz class aircraft carrier.

Here's an excerpt from the remarks President Carter made on March 17, 1978, upon visiting the Eisenhower: "As President of the United States and as Commander in Chief, I've had a chance today to be reassured that our Nation is strong, that that strength is being used to preserve peace around the world, and that the destiny of our country rests on the shoulders of strong men like yourselves, who exemplify superb service and courage in one of the great ships of the greatest navy in the greatest country on Earth."

Carter, by the way, is the only president to have earned the Submarine Warfare insignia, known as the "Dolphins" badge.

He and his wife Rosalynn (who died in November 2023) lived modestly after his one-term presidency ended in January 1981. As The Washington Post notes: "Mr. Carter declined the corporate board memberships and lucrative speaking engagements that have made other ex-presidents tens of millions of dollars. He said in the 2018 interview that he didn’t want to 'capitalize financially on being in the White House.'² ... For decades, the Carters spent a week a year building homes with Habitat for Humanity, the Georgia-based nonprofit organization that constructs housing for low-income people. Wearing their own tool belts, they helped build or renovate about 4,300 homes in 14 countries."

That's a damn fine legacy.

Carter is the first president I remember. He took office in early 1977, when I was 6 years old, and I recall lots of conversation about how interesting it was that a kid (the Carters' daughter Amy) lived in the White House. Once 1980 rolled around, I was well aware of the Iran hostage crisis and the intense news coverage, which included a running counter of the total days the hostages had been held. But I certainly didn't grasp the politics behind the situation.

It wasn't until many years later that I had a deeper understanding of Carter's legacy, of his successes and mistakes, and how his loss in the 1980 presidential election greatly shaped the world we live in today. 

Footnotes

1. Coral-Lee was the nickname and business name of Coralie Sparre, a teacher and avid postcard collector who got into postcard publishing when she retired. As this 2021 article by Bill Burton on Postcard History notes: "She decided that there was a need for postcards that documented the contemporary world. Her first project was a series of cards on the Presidential administration of Jimmy Carter, who had just been elected. Her first project became a 12-card set, but by the time President Carter left office she had published 72 cards. She assembled all of them into an album that she personally presented to Carter in late January 1981 in the Oval Office."

2. Ahem.