style="margin-top:40px; BROADSIDES

BROADSIDES
February 01, 2003

Remembering Columbia
The crew of the space shuttle Columbia was lost this morning when the shuttle disintegrated shortly before it was to land at the Kennedy Space Center.

I'm reminded of Ronald Reagan's speech to the nation following the Challenger disaster on January 28, 1986:

Ladies and gentlemen, I'd planned to speak to you tonight to report on the state of the union, but the events of earlier today have led me to change those plans. Today is a day for mourning and remembering. Nancy and I are pained to the core by the tragedy of the shuttle Challenger. We know we share this pain with all of the people of our country. This is truly a national loss.

Nineteen years ago, almost to the day, we lost three astronauts in a terrible accident on the ground. But we've never lost an astronaut in flight; we've never had a tragedy like this. And perhaps we've forgotten the courage it took for the crew of the shuttle; but they, the Challenger Seven, were aware of the dangers, but overcame them and did their jobs brilliantly. We mourn seven heroes: Michael Smith, Dick Scobee, Judith Resnik, Ronald McNair, Ellison Onizuka, Gregory Jarvis, and Christa McAuliffe. We mourn their loss as a nation together.

For the families of the seven, we cannot bear, as you do, the full impact of this tragedy. But we feel the loss, and we're thinking about you so very much. Your loved ones were daring and brave, and they had that special grace, that special spirit that says, "Give me a challenge and I'll meet it with joy." They had a hunger to explore the universe and discover its truths. They wished to serve, and they did. They served all of us.

We've grown used to wonders in this century. It's hard to dazzle us. But for 25 years the United States space program has been doing just that. We've grown used to the idea of space, and perhaps we forget that we've only just begun. We're still pioneers. They, the members of the Challenger crew, were pioneers.

And I want to say something to the school children of America who were watching the live coverage of the shuttle's takeoff. I know it is hard to understand, but sometimes painful things like this happen. It's all part of the process of exploration and discovery. It's all part of taking a chance and expanding man's horizons. The future doesn't belong to the fainthearted; it belongs to the brave. The Challenger crew was pulling us into the future, and we'll continue to follow them.

I've always had great faith in and respect for our space program, and what happened today does nothing to diminish it. We don't hide our space program. We don't keep secrets and cover things up. We do it all up front and in public. That's the way freedom is, and we wouldn't change it for a minute. We'll continue our quest in space. There will be more shuttle flights and more shuttle crews and yes, more volunteers, more civilians, more teachers in space. Nothing ends here; our hopes and our journeys continue.

I want to add that I wish I could talk to every man and woman who works for NASA or who worked on this mission and tell them: "Your dedication and professionalism have moved and impressed us for decades. And we know of your anguish. We share it."

There's a coincidence today. On this day 390 years ago, the great explorer Sir Francis Drake died aboard ship off the coast of Panama. In his lifetime the great frontiers were the oceans, and a historian later said, "He lived by the sea, died on it, and was buried in it." Well, today we can say of the Challenger crew: Their dedication was, like Drake's, complete.

The crew of the space shuttle Challenger honored us by the manner in which they lived their lives. We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for their journey and waved good-bye and "slipped the surly bonds of earth" to "touch the face of God."

  • B. Sides @ 1:27 PM
  • Thousands of Deadly Islamic Terror Attacks Since 9/11


    Email
    broadsides@gmail.com


    Links
    SFC Paul R. Smith MoH Tribute
    CPL Jason L. Dunham MoH Tribute
    LT Michael P. Murphy MoH Tribute
    MA2 Michael Monsoor MoH Tribute
    MSG Woodrow W. Keeble MoH Tribute
    PFC Ross McGinnis MoH Tribute
    Any Soldier.com
    Any Marine.com
    Any Sailor.com
    Any Airman.com
    Coalition to Salute America's Heroes
    Statues of Servicemen Fund
    VFW Military Assistance Program
    Fisher House
    Wounded Warrior Project
    Freedom Alliance Scholarship Fund
    Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund
    Adopt A Platoon
    Marines-Law Enforcement Foundation
    Special Ops Warrior Foundation
    America's Heroes of Freedom
    Adopt A Sniper
    Operation USO Care Package
    Operation Military Pride
    Books For Soldiers
    IraqiSchools.com
    Freedom's Angels
    Vets For Freedom
    Gathering of Eagles
    Faces of the Fallen

    James Lileks
    Leaning Towards The Dark Side
    Michael Yon
    ZombieTime
    Taco's SandGram
    Ranger Up
    One Marine's View
    Instapundit
    Michelle Malkin
    Bob Parks
    Jackie Mason
    Ron Silver
    Sgt. Stryker
    Tim Blair
    Jeff Jarvis
    Internet Haganah
    Little Green Footballs
    OxBlog
    Rightwing Sparkle
    Power Line
    Virginia Postrel
    Kyle Smith
    DefenseWatch
    CounterColumn

    Tech Central Station
    Drudge Report
    World Tribune
    Free Republic
    Global Security
    Society for Internet Research
    Terrorism Knowledge Base

    G. Gordon Liddy
    Bill Cunningham
    Quinn & Rose
    Laura Ingraham
    Mark Levin
    Rush Limbaugh
    Dennis Miller

    New York Post
    Washington Times
    Opinion Journal
    Washington Post
    The American Spectator
    London Telegraph
    Financial Times
    Times of London
    Jane's Defense
    AFIS

    Milton Friedman
    Thomas Sowell
    Claudia Rosett
    Victor Davis Hanson
    Mark Levin
    Larry Elder
    Mark Steyn
    Pete du Pont
    Charles Krauthammer
    Walter Williams
    David Horowitz
    Ann Coulter
    R. Emmett Tyrrell
    Michael Ledeen
    Larry Kudlow

    Reagan Presidential Library
    Landmark Legal Foundation
    Hoover Institution
    Protest Warrior
    Cato Institute
    National Center for Policy Analysis
    National Taxpayers Union
    Anti-CAIR
    American Enterprise Institute
    Americans Against Hate
    National Rifle Association
    National Right to Work Committee
    Reason Foundation

    Declaration of Independence
    The Constitution
    Congress
    The President
    U.S. Judiciary
    Department of Defense
    U.S. Central Command
    National Archives
    Library of Congress
    CIA World Factbook

    Institute of Official Cheer
    The Simpsons
    Callahan Online
    Tucker Max
    The Onion
    Day by Day
    Fugly
    Scrappleface
    The New York Times



    Archives
    current
    June 2002
    July 2002
    August 2002
    September 2002
    October 2002
    November 2002
    December 2002
    January 2003
    February 2003
    March 2003
    April 2003
    May 2003
    June 2003
    July 2003
    August 2003
    September 2003
    October 2003
    November 2003
    December 2003
    January 2004
    February 2004
    March 2004
    April 2004
    May 2004
    June 2004
    July 2004
    August 2004
    September 2004
    October 2004
    November 2004
    December 2004
    January 2005
    February 2005
    March 2005
    April 2005
    May 2005
    June 2005
    July 2005
    August 2005
    September 2005
    October 2005
    November 2005
    December 2005
    January 2006
    February 2006
    March 2006
    May 2006
    June 2006
    July 2006
    September 2006
    October 2006
    November 2006
    December 2006
    January 2007
    February 2007
    March 2007
    April 2007
    May 2007
    June 2007
    July 2007
    September 2007
    October 2007
    November 2007
    December 2007
    January 2008
    February 2008
    May 2008
    June 2008
    July 2008
    September 2008
    November 2008
    December 2008



    Credits
    design by maystar
    template via blogskins
    powered by blogger

    Powered by Blogger