In Event of Moon Disaster | Speech

Name: In Event of Moon Disaster
Made By: William Safire
Language: English
Published in: 1969
Word count: 233
Copyright: Non, Public Domain
About: Presidential speech writer William Safire wrote a memo to White House
Chief of Staff H. R. Haldeman suggesting how the administration might react if
Apollo XI astronauts, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were stranded on the moon.
The memo contained a draft speech intended to be read by President Richard Nixon.
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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.