Dedication
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There¡¯s a coincidence today. On this day 390 years ago,
the great explorer Sir Francis Drake died aboard ship
off the coast of Panama. In his lifetime the great frontiers were
the oceans, and an historian later said, ¡°He lived by the sea,
died on it, and was buried in it.¡± Well, today we can say of the
Challenger crew: Their dedication was, like Drake¡¯s, complete.
The crew of the space shuttle Challenger honored us by the
manner in which they lived their lives. 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 the earth¡±to ¡°touch the face of God.¡±