Seven lives were lost on this date in 1986 when the space shuttle Challenger exploded shortly after takeoff. I will never forget that morning and the terrible sadness. The crew of seven were Francis Scobee, Michael Smith, Ellison Onizuka, Judith Resnik, Ronald McNair, Gregory Jarvis, and Christa McAuliffe. They all perished.
All eyes were on televisions screens that day. The story was tod over and over. We watched in disbelief. We also watched in great sorrow. Ronald Reagan was President of the United States at the time, and regardless of your political leanings or what you think of the Reagan Presidency, I think you will agree with his actions that day. Quite simply he did what a President should do. He was presidential.
The State of the Union Address was schedued for that night, but instead of that, we heard another speech. It was televised from the White House. Reagan described the tragedy "On the day of the disaster, our nation held a vigil by our television sets. In one cruel moment, our exhilaration turned to horror; we waited and watched and tried to make sense of what we had seen."
President Regan's speech was only four minute long, but it was soothing, comforting, and just what America needed. Quoting from the poem High Flight by John Gillespie Magee Jr Regan closed saying "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.'"
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