Bush: 'We lost them so close to home'
HOUSTON, Texas Feb. 4, 2003
--President George W. Bush offered words of condolence to the families of the Columbia
crew at a memorial service at Johnson Space Center.
"Their
mission was almost complete and we lost them so close to home. The men and
women of the Columbia had journeyed more than 6 million miles and were minutes
away from arrival and reunion.
"The
lost was sudden and terrible, and for their families the grief is heavy.
"Our
nation shares in your sorrow and in your pride.
"We
remember not only one moment of tragedy, but seven lives of great purpose and
achievement.
"To
leave behind Earth and air and gravity is an ancient dream of humanity. For
these seven it was a dream fulfilled. Each of these astronauts had the daring
and discipline required of their calling.
"Each
of them knew that great endeavors are inseparable from great risks. And each of
them accepted those risks willingly, even joyfully, in the cause of discovery.
"Rick
Husband was a boy of four when he first thought of being an astronaut. As a man
and having become an astronaut, he found it was even more important to love his
family and serve his Lord.
"One
of Rick's favorite hymns was "How Great Thou Art," which offers these
words of praise: "I see the stars. I hear the mighty thunder. Thy power
throughout the universe displayed."
"David
Brown was first drawn to the stars as a little boy with a telescope in his
backyard. He admired astronauts, but as he said: 'I thought they were movie
stars. I thought I was kind of a normal kid.' David grew up to be a physician,
an aviator who could land on the deck of a carrier in the middle of the night
and a shuttle astronaut.
"His
brother asked him several weeks ago, what would happen if something went wrong
on their mission? David replied, "This program will go on."
"Michael
Anderson always wanted to fly planes and rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel
in the Air Force. Along the way, he became a role model, especially for his two
daughters and for the many children he spoke to in schools.
"He
said to them, 'Whatever you want to be in life, you're training for it now.'
"He
also told his minister, 'If this think doesn't come out right, don't worry
about me, I'm just going on higher.'
"Laurel
Salton Clark was a physician and a flight surgeon who loved adventure, loved
her work, loved her husband and her son. A friend who heard Laurel speaking to
mission control said, 'There was a smile in her voice.'
"Laurel
conducted some of the experiments as Columbia orbited the Earth and described
seeing new life emerge from a tiny cocoon.
"'Life,'
she said, 'continues in a lot of places, and life is a magical thing.'
"None
of our astronauts traveled a longer path to space than Kalpana Chawla. She left
India as a student, but she would see the nation of her birth, all of it, from
hundreds of miles above.
"When
the sad news reached her hometown, an administrator at her high school
recalled, 'She always said she wanted to reach the stars.' She went there and
beyond.
"Kalpana's
native country mourns her today and so does her adopted land.
"Ilan
Ramon also flew above his home, the land of Israel. He said, 'The quiet that
envelops space makes the beauty even more powerful, and I only hope that the
quiet can one day spread to my country.'
"Ilan
was a patriot, the devoted son of a Holocaust survivor, served his country in
two wars.
"'Ilan,'
said his wife Rona, 'left us at his peak moment, in his favorite place, with
people he loved.'
"The
Columbia's pilot was Commander Willy McCool, whom friends knew as the most
steady and dependable of men. In Lubbock today, they're thinking back to the
Eagle Scout who became a distinguished naval officer and a fearless test pilot.
"One
friend remembers Willy this way, 'He was blessed, and we were blessed to know
him.'
"Our
whole nation was blessed to have such men and women serving in our space
program. Their loss is deeply felt, especially in this place where so many of
you called them friends, the people in NASA are being tested once again.
"In
your grief, you are responding as your friends would have wished, with focus,
professionalism and unbroken faith in the mission of this agency."
"...
[T]hey go in peace for all mankind, and all mankind is in their debt.
"Yet,
some explorers do not return, and the law settles unfairly on a few.
"The
families here today shared in the courage of those they loved, but now they
must face life and grief without them. The sorrow is lonely, but you are not
alone.
"In
time, you will find comfort and the grace to see you through. And in God's own
time, we can pray that the day of your reunion will come.
"And
to the children who miss your mom or dad so much today, you need to know, they
love you, and that love will always be with you.
"They
were proud of you, and you can be proud of them for the rest of your life.
"The
final days of their own lives were spent looking down upon this earth, and now,
on every continent, in every land they can see, the names of these astronauts
[are] known and remembered.
"They
will always have an honored place in the memory of this country, and today, I
offer the respect and gratitude of the people of the United States.
"May
God bless you all."
NASA
Administrator Sean O’Keefe told those gathered at the Johnson Space Center that
“our grief is overwhelming.”
“Our duty now,” he said, “is to provide comfort to
the families of the Columbia crew.”
“We will persevere,” he vowed after recalling the
joy that the seven astronauts had brought to the space agency. Held at NASA's Johnson Space
Center, the service opened with an invocation by a Navy rabbi and the singing
of the hymns "God of Our Fathers" and "Eternal Father."
O'Keefe, his
voice at times breaking with emotion, said the bond between those who go into
space and those on the ground "is incredibly strong. Today, our grief is
overwhelming." O'Keefe said the government would honor the legacy of the
fallen astronauts "by finding out what caused the loss ... to correct the
problems we find and to make sure that this never happens again."
Navy Capt. Kent
Rominger, chief of the astronaut's office, recalled each of the crew's personal
idiosyncrasies and quirks that helped make the seven especially close.
One by one, he enumerated their strengths, recalling, for
example, how Navy flight surgeon David Brown was a longtime bachelor and
"as such, he was in constant search for food" — a comment that drew a
ripple of laughter from the audience.
"I know you're listening," Rominger said, as he finished by calling the seven by name. "Please know you're in our hearts and we will always smile when we think of you."
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