Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Challenger - 18 Years
Ronald Reagan ^ | 1-28-86

Posted on 01/28/2004 8:05:25 PM PST by Indy Pendance

Ronald Reagan's Funeral Eulogy for the Challenger Crew

Following is the text of President Reagan's remarks at a memorial service held in Houston following the Challenger disaster, Jan. 31, 1986. (From Houston Chronicle archives.)

We come together today to mourn the loss of seven brave Americans, to share the grief we all feel and, perhaps in that sharing, to find the strength to bear our sorrow and the courage to look for the seeds of hope.

Our nation's loss is first a profound personal loss to the family and the friends and loved ones of our shuttle astronauts. To those they have left behind - the mothers, the fathers, the husbands and wives, brothers, sisters, and yes, especially the children - all of America stands beside you in your time of sorrow.

What we say today is only an inadequate expression of what we carry in our hearts. Words pale in the shadow of grief; they seem insufficient even to measure the brave sacrifice of those you loved and we so admired. Their truest testimony will not be in the words we speak, but in the way they led their lives and in the way they lost those lives - with dedication, honor and an unquenchable desire to explore this mysterious and beautiful universe.

The best we can do is remember our seven astronauts - our ChallengerSeven - remember them as they lived, bringing life and love and joy to those who knew them and pride to a nation.

They came from all parts of this great country - from South Carolina to Washington State; Ohio to Mohawk, New York; Hawaii to North Carolina to Concord, New Hampshire. They were so different, yet in their mission, their quest, they held so much in common.

We remember Dick Scobee, the commander who spoke the last words we heard from the space shuttle Challenger. He served as a fighter pilot in Vietnam, earning many medals for bravery, and later as a test pilot of advanced aircraft before joining the space program. Danger was a familiar companion to Commander Scobee.

We remember Michael Smith, who earned enough medals as a combat pilot to cover his chest, including the Navy Distinguished Flying Cross, three Air Medals - and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with Silver Star, in gratitude from a nation that he fought to keep free.

We remember Judith Resnik, known as J.R. to her friends, always smiling, always eager to make a contribution, finding beauty in the music she played on her piano in her off-hours.

We remember Ellison Onizuka, who, as a child running barefoot through the coffee fields and macadamia groves of Hawaii, dreamed of someday traveling to the Moon. Being an Eagle Scout, he said, had helped him soar to the impressive achievement of his career.

We remember Ronald McNair, who said that he learned perseverance in the cotton fields of South Carolina. His dream was to live aboard the space station, performing experiments and playing his saxophone in the weightlessness of space; Ron, we will miss your saxophone and we will build your space station.

We remember Gregory Jarvis. On that ill-fated flight he was carrying with him a flag of his university in Buffalo, New York - a small token he said, to the people who unlocked his future.

We remember Christa McAuliffe, who captured the imagination of the entire nation, inspiring us with her pluck, her restless spirit of discovery; a teacher, not just to her students, but to an entire people, instilling us all with the excitement of this journey we ride into the future.

We will always remember them, these skilled professionals, scientists and adventurers, these artists and teachers and family men and women, and we will cherish each of their stories - stories of triumph and bravery, stories of true American heroes.

On the day of the disaster, our nation held a vigil by our television sets. In one cruel moment, our exhilaration turned to horror; we waited and watched and tried to make sense of what we had seen. That night, I listened to a call-in program on the radio: people of every age spoke of their sadness and the pride they felt in `our astronauts.' Across America, we are reaching out, holding hands, finding comfort in one another.

The sacrifice of your loved ones has stirred the soul of our nation and, through the pain, our hearts have been opened to a profound truth - the future is not free, the story of all human progress is one of a struggle against all odds. We learned again that this America, which Abraham Lincoln called the last best hope of man on Earth, was built on heroism and noble sacrifice. It was built by men and women like our seven star voyagers, who answered a call beyond duty, who gave more than was expected or required, and who gave it with little thought to worldly reward.

We think back to the pioneers of an earlier century, and the sturdy souls who took their families and the belongings and set out into the frontier of the American West. Often, they met with terrible hardship. Along the Oregon Trail you can still see the grave markers of those who fell on the way. But grief only steeled them to the journey ahead.

Today, the frontier is space and the boundaries of human knowledge. Sometimes, when we reach for the stars, we fall short. But we must pick ourselves up again and press on despite the pain. Our nation is indeed fortunate that we can still draw on immense reservoirs of courage, character and fortitude - that we are still blessed with heroes like those of the space shuttle Challenger.

Dick Scobee knew that every launching of a space shuttle is a technological miracle. And he said, if something ever does go wrong, I hope that doesn't mean the end to the space shuttle program. Every family member I talked to asked specifically that we continue the program, that that is what their departed loved one would want above all else. We will not disappoint them.

Today, we promise Dick Scobee and his crew that their dream lives on; that the future they worked so hard to build will become reality. The dedicated men and women of NASA have lost seven members of their family. Still, they too, must forge ahead, with a space program that is effective, safe and efficient, but bold and committed.

Man will continue his conquest of space. To reach out for new goals and ever greater achievements - that is the way we shall commemorate our seven Challenger heroes.

Dick, Mike, Judy, El, Ron, Greg and Christa - your families and your country mourn your passing. We bid you goodbye. We will never forget you. For those who knew you well and loved you, the pain will be deep and enduring. A nation, too, will long feel the loss of her seven sons and daughters, her seven good friends. We can find consolation only in faith, for we know in our hearts that you who flew so high and so proud now make your home beyond the stars, safe in God's promise of eternal life.

May God bless you all and give you comfort in this difficult time.


TOPICS: Breaking News; Culture/Society; Front Page News; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: anniversary; challenger; space
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-80 ... 101-117 next last
To: KangarooJacqui; Indy Pendance
Thank you both.
41 posted on 01/28/2004 9:14:04 PM PST by Luis Gonzalez (The Gift Is To See The Trout.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 39 | View Replies]

To: Monty22
It's amazing how Columbia barely affected us this time. 9/11 really changed Americans, for the far worse.

Your exactly right, I remember I was in 6th grade at school when they brought us in the library to watch it (after the explosion) I remember it being 100x the news story that the Columbia was. The death and destruction of 9/11 simply hasnt been paralleled in recent history. As bad as it sounds, the death of 7 people just didnt affect people the same after seeing 3000 die.
42 posted on 01/28/2004 9:16:44 PM PST by Husker24
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 21 | View Replies]

To: Kirkwood
I was teaching at a medical school and setting up a lab. One of my students came in and told me the shuttle blew apart into a million pieces. I couldn't believe it. At the time I was considering their medical scientist program. Class started an hour later and many of the students had tears in their eyes that day. I still remember the look of shock in everyone's face, while I struggled to concentrate on the lecture.
43 posted on 01/28/2004 9:18:14 PM PST by Kirkwood
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 38 | View Replies]

To: Luis Gonzalez
bookmarked.
44 posted on 01/28/2004 9:18:38 PM PST by .38sw
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 22 | View Replies]

To: Luis Gonzalez; Indy Pendance

]

 

High Flight

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds, — and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of — wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there,
I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air. . . .

Up, up the long, delirious burning blue
I've topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, or ever eagle flew —
And, while with silent, lifting mind I've trod
The high untresspassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.

— John Gillespie Magee, Jr


45 posted on 01/28/2004 9:20:17 PM PST by Howlin
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 41 | View Replies]

To: Howlin
Thanks for posting that, it touches my soul and is really poignant.
46 posted on 01/28/2004 9:23:21 PM PST by Indy Pendance
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 45 | View Replies]

To: Howlin
Very moving. Thanks for posting that, Howlin.

(Ah heck, you've got me crying again...)
47 posted on 01/28/2004 9:25:00 PM PST by KangarooJacqui (Always remember to look to the skies... and dream.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 45 | View Replies]

To: Luis Gonzalez
Wow, beautiful is all I can say! It took me a while of reading more of those posts to realize that was posted in 2001. 9/11 nor Columbia had happened yet. The world continues to change. Are we getting any better or wiser?
48 posted on 01/28/2004 9:25:40 PM PST by Ohioan from Florida
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 22 | View Replies]

To: Howlin
The Green Hills of Earth

Let the sweet fresh breezes heal me
As they rove around the girth
Of our lovely mother planet
Of the cool, green hills of Earth.

We've tried each spinning space mote
And reckoned its true worth:
Take us back again to the homes of men
On the cool, green hills of Earth.

The arching sky is calling
Spacemen back to their trade.
ALL HANDS! STAND BY! FREE FALLING!
And the lights below us fade.

Out ride the sons of Terra,
Far drives the thundering jet,
Up leaps a race of Earthmen,
Out, far, and onward yet ---

We pray for one last landing
On the globe that gave us birth;
Let us rest our eyes on the fleecy skies
And the cool, green hills of Earth.
Robert A. Heinlein


49 posted on 01/28/2004 9:26:06 PM PST by Luis Gonzalez (The Gift Is To See The Trout.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 45 | View Replies]

To: Thane_Banquo
That closing line is probably the best ever in a presidential speech. I get chills whenever I hear it.

Couldn't agree more.

50 posted on 01/28/2004 9:27:00 PM PST by Incorrigible (immanentizing the eschaton)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 24 | View Replies]

To: Luis Gonzalez
Luis, you should write more often. I had forgotten how moving your work is.
51 posted on 01/28/2004 9:27:11 PM PST by Howlin
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 49 | View Replies]

To: KangarooJacqui
I'm crying, too.

I love that poem so much that I had it read at my son's funeral. He wasn't a pilot, but I hope it describes the "life" he's living now.
52 posted on 01/28/2004 9:28:05 PM PST by Howlin
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 47 | View Replies]

To: Howlin
I'm trying...too old and bitter I guess.
53 posted on 01/28/2004 9:28:40 PM PST by Luis Gonzalez (The Gift Is To See The Trout.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 51 | View Replies]

To: Howlin
Hang in there my friend.
54 posted on 01/28/2004 9:29:34 PM PST by Luis Gonzalez (The Gift Is To See The Trout.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 52 | View Replies]

To: Ohioan from Florida
The world continues to change. Are we getting any better or wiser?

Probably just more accustomed to hurt, I'd say.

That said... I've had to wipe several tears off my keyboard during this thread alone... maybe it's time for me to "Step AWAY from the computer, ma'am..." 8>)
55 posted on 01/28/2004 9:29:36 PM PST by KangarooJacqui (Always remember to look to the skies... and dream.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 48 | View Replies]

To: Luis Gonzalez
No need to be bitter; life is good, not that you'd be able to tell it around here........LOL.
56 posted on 01/28/2004 9:30:05 PM PST by Howlin
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 53 | View Replies]

To: KangarooJacqui
Probably just more accustomed to hurt, I'd say.

Oh, I hope not. Not the kind of hurt that the reminder of Challenger brings.

57 posted on 01/28/2004 9:31:21 PM PST by Howlin
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 55 | View Replies]

To: Husker24
And when 30,000 die for allah, those 3,000 will seem like the 7 before and forgotten. That's the price we pay for allowing islam to exist.
58 posted on 01/28/2004 9:32:52 PM PST by Monty22
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 42 | View Replies]

To: Luis Gonzalez
Thank you for post 22.

pax
59 posted on 01/28/2004 10:06:12 PM PST by pax_et_bonum (Always finish what you st)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 22 | View Replies]

To: Indy Pendance
I was a 3rd grader at Richardson Elementary in Minden, Louisiana. I remember my friend Jason telling me the Challenger had blown up. I'll never forget President Reagan's speech that day when he told us the astronauts had touched the grace of God.

As for the Columbia, I was sound asleep in San Diego when my mom called me from my hometown in Tyler, Texas, to tell me that it was lost.

60 posted on 01/28/2004 10:17:23 PM PST by GOPyouth (De Oppresso Liber! The Tyrant is captured!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-80 ... 101-117 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson