怀念挑战者号宇航员（2/2）

We reber Michael Sith, who earned enough dals as a bat pilot to ver his chest, cdg the Navy Distguished Flyg Cross, three Air Medals, and the Vietnase Cross of Galntry with Silver Stargratitude fro a nation he fought to keep free.

We reber Judith Resnik, known as J.R.to her friends, always silg, always eager to ake a ntribution, fdg beautythe ic she pyed on her pianoher off-hours.

We reber Ellison Onizuka, who as a child runng barefoot through the ffee fields and acadaia groves of Hawaii dread of soday travelg to the Moon.Beg an Eagle Sut, he said, had helped hi soar to the ipressive achievents of his career.

We reber Ronald Mair, who said that he learned perseverahe tton fields of South Caro.His drea was to live aboard the space station.Perf experts and pyg his saxophohe weightlessness of spae station.

We reber Gregory Jarvis.On that ill-fated flight he was carryg with hi a fg of his uyBuffalo, New York—a sall token, he said, to the people who unlocked his future.

We reber Christa McAuliffe, who captured the iagation of the eion; spirgwith her pitent of this journey we ride to the future.

We will always reber the, these skilled professionals, stists and adventurers, these artists and teachers and faily n and won; and we will cherish each of their stories, stories of triuph and bravery, stories of true Ari heroes.

On the day of the disaster, our nation held a vigil by our televisios.In one cruel ont our exhiration turo horror; we waited and watched and tried to ake sense of what we had seen.That night I listeo a call- progra on the radio; people of every age spoke of their sadness and the pride they feltour astronauts.Across Arica we are reachg out, holdg hands, and fdg fortone another.

The sacrifice of your loved ones has stirred the soul of our nation and through the pa our hearts have been opeo a profound truth: The future is not free; the story of all huan progress is one of a struggle agast all odds.We learned aga that this Arica, which Abraha Lln called the st, best hope of an oh, was built on herois and ed or required, and who gave it little thought of worldly reward.

We thk back to the pioneers of an earlier tury, the sturdy souls who took their failies and their belonggs a out to the frontier of the Ari West.Ofte with terrible hardship.Along the on Trail, you uld still see the gravearkers of those who fell on the way.But grief only steeled the to the journey ahead.

Today the frontier is spad the boundaries of huan knowledge.Sotis when we reach for the stars, we fall short.But we t pick ourselves up aga and press oe the pa.Our nation is deed fortuhat westill draw on se reservoirs e, character and fortitude—that we’re still blessed with heroes like those of the space shuttle Challenger.

Dick Sbee khat every unchg of a space shuttle is a teological iracle.And he said, “If sothg ever does g, I hope that doesn’t an the end to the space shuttle progra.” Every faily ber I talked to asked specifically that we he progra, that that is what their departed loved one would want above all else.We will not disappot the.

Today we proise Dick Sbee and his crew that their drea lives on, that the future they worked so hard to build will bee reality.The dedicated n and won of NASA have lost seven bers of their faily.Still, they, too, t fe ahead with a space progra that is effective, safe a, but bold and itted.

Man will ntue hisof space.To reach out for new goals and ever greater achievents—that is the way we shall orate our seven Challenger heroes.

Dick, Mike, Judy, El, Ron, Greg and Christa—your failies and your untry ourn your passg.We bid you goodbye; we will never fet you.For those who knew you well and loved you, the pa will be deep and endurg.A nation, too, will lohe loss of her seven sons and daughters, her seven good friends.Wefd nsotion onlyfaith, for we knowour hearts that you who flew so high and so proud now ake your ho beyond the stars, safeGod’s proise of eternal life.

May God bless you all and give you fortthis difficult ti.