Theres heavy grief in our hearts, which will diminish with time, but it will never go away, and we wont ever forget, Crippen said, choking up as he called out the first names of the seven astronauts: Commander Rick Husband, pilot Willie McCool, payload commander Michael Anderson, payload specialist Ilan Ramon, and mission specialists Dave Brown, Kalpana K.C. Chawla and Laurel Clark.
The article also says 'A few drops of rain sent a wave of restlessness through the crowd, but the sun brightened the stage briefly as Florida Gov. Jeb Bush spoke.'
I've experienced the few drops of rain on more than one occasion at graveside or memorial services. I look upon it as God sharing a few tears with us. It is an immensely moving moment for me. I guess the author hasn't been similarly blessed.
I also heard the T-38's as the came up the coast prior to the fly-over. The modern sound of freedom.
See Thousands at KSC honor Columbia's 7 heroes for the local print coverage of the service.
If you were there, you have my great sympathies on your horrid loss.
The NASA camerapeople totally missed the missing man formation. They were panning around trying to figure out what all that noise was. It was an embarassment.