Heritage’s Dr. Lee Edwards has received the Truman-Reagan Medal of Freedom at the grand opening at the Victims of Communism Museum on June 8th from the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation for his resilience in the fight against communism. 

Edwards is a distinguished research fellow in conservative thought and a leading historian of American conservatism who has published more than 25 books throughout his career on conservatism and its biggest leaders. 

Edwards is also the co-founder of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation in Washington, D.C. 

His books include biographies of Ronald Reagan, Barry Goldwater, William F. Buckley, Jr., and Edwin Meese III as well as histories of The Heritage Foundation and the American conservative movement. His works have been translated into six languages. His most recent works include “A Brief History of the Cold War” and his autobiography, “Just Right: A Life in Pursuit of Liberty.” 

His awards and honors include the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary, the Millennium Star of Lithuania, the Cross of Terra Mariana of Estonia, the Friendship Medal of Diplomacy from the Republic of China (Taiwan), the Reed Irvine Accuracy in Media Award, and the Legend of YAF from Young America’s Foundation. 

His passion for fighting communism shines brightly and is creating lasting change in this country and across the world. When making remarks at the dedication of the Victims of Communism Museum, he said: 

“With the Victims of Communism Museum as our cornerstone, we shall continue to tell the truth about communism, its deadly history, ideology, and legacy. 

 

“History: Communism is the greatest global evil of the 20th and 21st centuries, responsible for the deaths of more than 100 million victims, and counting.  

 

“Ideology: Communism promises a classless Utopia but rules through the dictatorship of a Communist Party. It is a pseudo-religion posing as a pseudo-science enforced by a political elite. 

 

“Legacy: There are five Communist regimes in the world—China, Cuba, North Korea, Vietnam, and Laos, as well as failing and failed experiments in Communism in Venezuela, Nicaragua, the former Soviet Union and thirty other countries.   

 

“We promise to work without ceasing toward the day when communism and all forms of tyranny are where they deserve to be—on the ash heap of history.” 

Today, the Victims of Communism Museum features the latest high-tech and traditional exhibits from Marx to the present-day communist regimes. It is the go-to institution to teach about the evils of communism and is working to bring about a world free of all forms of totalitarianism. It is the only institution in the world that honors the more than 100 million victims of communism and promotes the freedom of the more than one billion people still living under communist rule.  

Edwards is an adjunct professor of politics at the Catholic University of America, where he was named distinguished lecturer; he was the founding director of the Institute of Political Journalism at Georgetown University; and was a fellow at the Institute of Politics at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He is a past president of the Philadelphia Society and a media fellow at the Hoover Institution.