Ronald Reagan's address to the nation after the 1986 Challenger explosion.
“Fate has ordained that the men
who went to the moon to explore in peace will stay on the moon to rest in
peace. These brave men, Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin, know that there is no hope for their recovery. But they also know that there is hope for
mankind in their sacrifice.
"These two men are laying
down their lives in mankind's most noble goal: the search for truth and
understanding. They will be mourned by their families and friends; they will be
mourned by their nation; they will be mourned by the people of the world; they
will be mourned by a Mother Earth that dared send two of her sons into the
unknown.
"In their exploration, they
stirred the people of the world to feel as one; in their sacrifice, they bind
more tightly the brotherhood of man. In ancient days, men looked at stars and
saw their heroes in the constellations. In modern times, we do much the same,
but our heroes are epic men of flesh and blood.
"Others will follow, and
surely find their way home. Man's search will not be denied. But these men were
the first, and they will remain the foremost in our hearts. For every human being who
looks up at the moon in the nights to come will know that there is some corner
of another world that is forever mankind's."
- Richard Nixon's unused address to the nation if Apollo 11 wasn't able to make it off the Moon.
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