| − | From 1969 to 1976, Smith's singing of "God Bless America" at the Philadelphia Flyers hockey]] games attracted national attention after she had been out of the public limelight for several years.<ref name=totalt/>Smith spent her last years in the capital city of [[Raleigh]], [[North Carolina]]. In 1982, [[U.S. President]] [[Ronald W. Reagan]] traveled to Raleigh in the company of [[U.S. Senator]] [[Jesse Helms]], a Smith admirer, to award her the [[Presidential Medal of Freedom]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/speeches/1982/102682c.htm|title=Remarks on Presenting the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Kate Smith in Raleigh, North Carolina, October 26, 1982|publisher=reagan.utexas.edu|accessdate=December 1, 2010}}</ref>In 1942, as an actor, Reagan had appeared with Smith in Irving Berlin's ''This Is the Army. | + | From 1969 to 1976, Smith's singing of "God Bless America" at the Philadelphia Flyers [[hockey]] games attracted national attention after she had been out of the public limelight for several years.<ref name=totalt/>Smith spent her last years in the capital city of [[Raleigh]], [[North Carolina]]. In 1982, [[U.S. President]] [[Ronald W. Reagan]] traveled to Raleigh in the company of [[U.S. Senator]] [[Jesse Helms]], a Smith admirer, to award her the [[Presidential Medal of Freedom]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/speeches/1982/102682c.htm|title=Remarks on Presenting the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Kate Smith in Raleigh, North Carolina, October 26, 1982|publisher=reagan.utexas.edu|accessdate=December 1, 2010}}</ref>In 1942, as an actor, Reagan had appeared with Smith in Irving Berlin's ''This Is the Army. |
| | In 1984, Reagan granted the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Tennessee Ernie Ford. Like Smith, he had had also appeared on ''The Ford Show'' in 1959 but in different episodes.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cmt.com/artists/az/ford_tennessee_ernie/bio.jhtml|title=Tennessee Ernie Ford Biography|publisher=cmt.com|accessdate=December 1, 2010}}</ref> | | In 1984, Reagan granted the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Tennessee Ernie Ford. Like Smith, he had had also appeared on ''The Ford Show'' in 1959 but in different episodes.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cmt.com/artists/az/ford_tennessee_ernie/bio.jhtml|title=Tennessee Ernie Ford Biography|publisher=cmt.com|accessdate=December 1, 2010}}</ref> |