Reagan Lauds ‘Heroes of Our Hearts’

With the optimistic flourish that has become a hallmark of his presidency, President Reagan singled out four young Americans to honor as “heroes of our hearts” in his State of the Union address Tuesday.

The choice of the young people--a budding scientist, a musical prodigy, a girl who has shown extraordinary bravery and a boy who has devoted himself to helping the homeless--reflected Reagan’s theme of looking toward the future.

As the youngsters were greeted with a hail of applause, Reagan saluted them as “America’s champions of the 21st Century.”

Seated in a place of honor next to Nancy Reagan, they stood one by one as the President called their names and identified their accomplishments.

They were:

Richard Cavoli, 21, of Marlboro, N.Y., whose experiment on the growth of crystals in space was among those aboard the shuttle Challenger, which exploded last week.

Tyrone Ford, 12, of Washington, a self-taught musical genius who Reagan said had “surmounted personal adversities” to achieve his success. Ford was orphaned at birth and raised by an adoptive grandmother.

Shelby Butler, 12, of St. Joseph, Mo., who risked her life by lunging in front of a school bus and pulling a young girl, frozen by terror, from its path.

Trevor Ferrell, 13, of Philadelphia, who two years ago began taking blankets and food to the homeless people whose plight he had seen dramatized on television. “Trevor’s Campaign for the Homeless” now has 250 volunteers who feed up to 200 people a night.

“Nothing is impossible; no victory is beyond our reach; no glory will ever be too great,” Reagan said after recognizing these young people.

To add an element of surprise to Reagan’s speech, which had been heavily previewed in the press in recent days, the White House had concealed the identities of the four youngsters. “It was the last best secret,” said one official.

Frederick Ryan, White House director of scheduling, headed the search for Tuesday’s heroes.

Ryan put out a broad net for candidates who would symbolize major themes of Reagan’s speech: the family and the future. “We wanted people who deserved specific recognition but who would also visually epitomize the message he is conveying,” said a White House official.

When the space shuttle Challenger exploded Jan. 28, forcing a week’s postponement of Reagan’s speech, some officials speculated that the heroes would have to be changed to reflect the shuttle disaster.

But all quietly returned to their homes for the week’s delay, their expenses paid by “private sector people who request to be anonymous,” said a White House official.