1/28/86 - Lest We Forget

[CalMeacham]

Lake City SC apparently is having a memorial event for McNair:

http://www.thestate.com/news/state/south-carolina/article56958263.html

That legacy continues to be told through the committee’s efforts at the Dr. Ronald E. McNair Life History Center adjacent to the memorial Park, educational programs in Florence County School District Three, and annual programs such as today’s vigil, which will begin at 6 p.m.

This year, the committee will also host a 30th anniversary commemorative banquet at the Bean Market on Henry Street with McNair’s daughter, Joy C. McNair, a Texas-based attorney, as guest speaker. Proceeds from the banquet will provide supportive resources for the McNair Scholarship program that provides scholarships for Lake City High School students.

Other events commemorating the 30th anniversary today include a memorial program at the astronaut’s alma mater, North Carolina A&T State University, and a NASA Day of Remembrance tribute to the Challenger crew, as well as those of Apollo 1 and space shuttle Columbia, and other NASA colleagues, that includes an observance and wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.

In addition, at 10 a.m., NASA Television will provide live coverage of a wreath-laying ceremony at the Space Mirror Memorial at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida, and employees at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, will hold a candle-lighting ceremony as well as a public event at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center.

[Rhiannon8404]

I was in high school in chemistry class and the teacher had set up a TV for us to watch.

[Tangent]

I was in seventh grade, and several teachers got our classes together to watch the launch on television. When we realized what had happened, it was so quiet. Several people, teachers and students, cried.

One of my 6th grade teachers had gotten fairly far along in the application process to be the teacher on the flight.

[Whatever4]

I was sitting at my desk which was next to a large window facing the courthouse square in a small old town not yet touched by progress. My co-worker’s husband called with the news which left me “oh, ok”-ish.

What really got to me, though, were the two courthouse employees solemnly lowering the courthouse flag.

I didn’t have tv, so it was quite some time before I saw the video. I guess I was numbed by all the newspaper pictures, because the video seemed more movie than real life.

However, just thinking of the scene on the courthouse lawn still gets to me.

[Katriona]

I was in my high school accounting class. My brother was really into space and the space program, and I remember him being devastated.

[Tibby]

The Challenger explosion is one of a handful of national tragedies I lived through that is ingrained permanently in my memory. The feeling of pride and wonder in yet another exciting NASA mission, turned instantaneously into horror and sorrow is unforgettable.

@FairyChatMom

I was a new engineer at NAS Jacksonville, and by that time, shuttle launches were so ho-hum, I was playing cards with some coworkers during lunch while some other coworkers were out on the roof of our building to see if they could spot the launch. Then all of a sudden, we were all out on the roof trying to make sense of the trails in the sky. It was a sobering day.

I was driving south on Roosevelt Blvd. right in front of NAS Jax when it happened. Small world. Small, sometimes tragic, world.

[Rigamarole]

I was a few months old.

[Dr.Girlfriend]

I was ten, and my class had just gotten back from a field trip and we were all sitting in the cafeteria listening to the launch being broadcast over the PA system. I remember not being exactly sure what had happened, I just knew it was something bad.

My sister was seven, and she was home sick from school that day. Mom was home with her and they saw it live on TV. My sister got really scared by it, for months afterward she was having bad dreams and drawing pictures of the shuttle exploding.

[Bullitt]

I was 24 and had just finished a graveyard shift and was already in bed - we were in California. My wife woke me up to tell me. Total shock and disbelief.

Fast forward ten years to 1/28/1999. Super Bowl XXX was played in Tempe, AZ. My brother flew F-16s out of nearby Luke AFB, and so did Dick Scobee’s son, Rich Scobee. Many months before the Super Bowl my brother realized the game was going to be on the tenth anniversary. My brother initiated the idea, climbed the USAF chain of command and also contacted the NFL. On game day, the Missing Man flyover before the game were F-16s from Luke AFB. Rich Scobee was there, he pulled up and out of the formation. He was the missing man.

Man, I’m getting choked up right now as I type this. Must be getting soft as I get older.

My brother was on the sidelines that day with a free pass from the NFL as a Thank You.

LA Times article: At Super Bowl's High Point, a Son Will Recall His Father