Emotional memorial ceremony held for Col. Ilan Ramon

Israel Insider ^ | 2/11/2003 | Israel Insider

[Israel Insider]

In an official memorial ceremony yesterday at the Lod Air Force base near Ben-Gurion International Airport, friends, family, and Israeli political and military officials came to bid farewell to Israel's first astronaut, Col. Ilan Ramon, 48. Ramon, who lost his life when the space shuttle Columbia exploded upon re-entry into the earth's atmosphere on February 1, will be buried today in a private military ceremony in Nahalal.

Ilan's widow Rona, their four children and Ilan's father Eliezer Wolferman, returned from Houston, Texas to attend the ceremony. Rona, and her eldest son Assaf, read an excerpt from an e-mail they received from Ramon's crewmember, David Brown on the last day of the Columbia's sixteen day mission.

"If I had been born in space I know I would desire to visit beautiful Earth, far more than I ever wanted to visit space... It's a beautiful planet," Brown wrote.

An Air Force pilot under Ramon's command stood next to his coffin and played on his saxophone the song "Do you hear my voice calling you from afar," which Rona arranged to play aboard Columbia to wake the crew during the mission. Air Force Commander Maj.-Gen. Dan Halutz read an aviators' poem, including the line: "Bring the pilot's soul to land safely on the runway of eternal rest." Assaf, who maintained his composure throughout the ceremony, finally broke down when a choir of children sang the song, "Look after the world, son."

"This is not how you imagined your homecoming," eulogized Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

"Ilan, the son of a mother who survived the Holocaust, and a father who is a veteran of the War of Independence, was a courageous combat pilot and an outstanding officer, and was among the best of our sons and warriors," Sharon said in his remarks. "On his last mission he soared higher than any other Israeli, and realized his dream... The Star of David, the blue-and-white of our flag, were interwoven with the American Stars and Stripes, and the common fate of the team poignantly strengthened the staunch partnership between our nations.

"A day will come when other Israelis will be launched into space in the service of science and progress. For them and for us, Ilan Ramon will always be a source of inspiration, as Israel's space pioneer," Sharon said.

Fifteen representatives from NASA participated in the ceremony, including Canadian astronaut Steve MacLean, who arrived with his wife and three children. MacLean, who flew on his first space flight aboard Columbia in 1992, spoke of the friendship he had developed with the Ramon family during years of training at NASA.

"I sat in the same seat as Ilan," he said. "This is a huge tragedy for my wife, my kids and me. Our two families connected, and we spent a lot of time together. My wife and Rona are friends, and so are the children. The more I got to know Ilan, I understood that the man had accomplished so much in his life, and in spite of that he remained so modest. It was a great honor to know him." MacLean said he would be eager to take part in another space flight, "Ilan's death makes me want to finish what he began," the astronaut stated.

Jewish American astronaut Garret Reisman recalled his relationship with Ramon. "I remember Ilan as a confident optimist. He never had any doubts, he understood the delays. They never troubled him. He would say, 'It's okay,' and I have a feeling that he would say the same thing now if he were able to. He would say, 'It's something that happened. Life will go on, other Israelis will fly, other people will fly in space and the work will continue.' That's the kind of guy he was.

Reisman added, "I would talk with him about Israeli events. At the time he was with us there were many momentous events that happened in Israel, and I would be angry about some of the tragedies and I would talk to Ilan and he would comfort me."

Also present at the ceremony was a group of Israeli high school students who designed an experiment on the effects of gravity on crystal growth that Ramon carried aboard the shuttle.

Indian Ambassador to Israel Raminder S. Jassal attended, in tribute to Columbia crewmember Kalpana Chawla, who was Indian born. Former president Ezer Weizman and his wife Reuma, who had developed a connection with Ramon and had received several e-mails from him while he was in space, also attended the ceremony.

Ramon will be buried today in a military ceremony in Moshav Nahalal in the Jezreel Valley. At the request of the Ramon family there will be no media coverage of the small funeral, which will be attended by relatives and close friends.

[borkruleswife]

"On his last mission he soared higher than any other Israeli, and realized his dream... The Star of David, the blue-and-white of our flag, were interwoven with the American Stars and Stripes, and the common fate of the team poignantly strengthened the staunch partnership between our nations."

Just so. God rest Ilan Ramon. And God save the United States of America and our friend and ally, Israel.

[tob2]

Thank you for this post. I will always remember Ilan Ramon in the video from the Columbia, doing his superman entrance.

[Jeremiah Jr]

An Israeli woman signs a condolence book for Colonel Ilan Ramon, the first Israeli astronaut who died February 1, in the space shuttle Columbia disaster with six other astronauts, on February 2, 2003 at Mekif Gimel high school where Ramon was a student. Israelis mourned on Sunday the death of their country's first astronaut with a weary sense of familiarity with dashed dreams. The space shuttle Columbia broke up in the skies 200,000 feet over Texas on yesterday. REUTERS/Alberto Dankberg


Rocket Man (I Think It's Going To Be A Long Long Time)

Music by Elton John
Lyrics by Bernie Taupin

She packed my bags last night pre-flight
Zero hour nine a.m.
And I'm gonna be high as a kite by then
I miss the earth so much I miss my wife
It's lonely out in space
On such a timeless flight

And I think it's gonna be a long long time
Till touch down brings me round again to find
I'm not the man they think I am at home
Oh no no no I'm a rocket man
Rocket man burning out his fuse up here alone

Mars ain't the kind of place to raise your kids
In fact it's cold as hell
And there's no one there to raise them if you did
And all this science I don't understand
It's just my job five days a week

A rocket man, a rocket man

And I think it's gonna be a long long time...


JJ

[Thinkin' Gal]

Mon Feb 10, 2:51 PM ET

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon (news - web sites) delivers a speech in front of a coffin containing the remains of Israel's first astronaut Ilan Ramon, during a memorial service at Ben Gurion International Airport, outside Tel Aviv Feb. 10, 2003. Ramon, a 48-year-old air force colonel, died with six other astronauts aboard NASA (news - web sites)'s Columbia space shuttle, which broke up as it came down through the Earth's atmosphere on Feb. 1, 2003. (AP Photo/Paul Hanna, Pool)