It was on this day in 1986 that the space shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds after takeoff, killing all seven astronauts aboard. That evening, President Ronald Reagan eulogized the lost astronauts in one of the finest addresses of his presidency. He said,
"We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for their journey and waved goodbye and slipped 'the surly bonds of earth' to 'touch the face of God."
Be Well!
5 comments:
Thank you for remembering. . . I can't believe its been over 20 years. Not to take anything away from President Reagan, who was a wonderful speaker and Mourner-in-Chief during that time, but the portion of the speech you quoted was based on a poem called "High Flight" by John Gillespie Magee. It's a favorite of mine and is quoted below in it's entirety.
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 windswept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, or even 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.
How time flies huh? I will never forget that day! I was not aware of the rest of the poem! Thank you for posting it Susie Q...it is beautiful!!
Wow. I remember what I was doing at that moment. I'd stayed home to catch up on homework--which was all but impossible to do anyway with a toddler. I was sitting on the floor with my books and my baby. The TV was on TPIR. Then it wasn't and I couldn't process what they were saying, the shock was that bad.
I can't believe how long ago that was. I was still at school and remember that they allowed us to watch the news.
Thank you for remembering.
Wow. It's been a while since I've visited, hasn't it? I was six. I think I was home sick from school. Anyway, I was sitting on Mom's lap when we saw the news. The memory is still very vivid.
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