1979 solar eclipse news report ended with wish for peace in 2017

“May the shadow of the moon fall on a world at peace.”

Those were the words of ABC News anchorman Frank Reynolds, who covered the last total eclipse that passed over the continental United States on Feb. 21, 1979. Reynolds ended his broadcast with a hopeful message of world peace in 2017 when the next total eclipse passed over the country, People reported.

Reynolds took viewers through the various stages of the eclipse as it passed through Portland, Oregon, and Helena, Montana. Reynolds, who died in July 1983, ended his report with his optimistic hope for peace.

“So that’s it, the last solar eclipse to be seen on this continent in this century,” Reynolds said. “As I said, not until Aug. 21, 2017, will another eclipse be visible from North America. “That’s 38 years from now. May the shadow of the moon fall on a world at peace.”

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