#1 "President's Back-up Copy of Address to the Nation: Death of Space Shuttle Challenger

Crew"
Look at the "President's Back-up Copy of Address to the Nation: Death of Space Shuttle
Challenger Crew" below. Answer the following questions:

This is President Reagan's backup "reading copy" of the Challenger speech. The numbers and
writing in the top left corner of the first page were put there by White House staff so that this
document could be found again. The lines on the "reading copy" indicate when the president
should pause. This is a technique President Reagan used from the 1960s, when he was Governor
of California.
1.
2.
3.

What do you think the backup copy was used for?

What do you think the marks on the backup copy represent?
What does the word "Noonan" in parenthesis at the upper left-hand corner of the
document represent?
4.
Where was the speech presented? How do you know this?

#2 "Presidential Remarks: Death of Space Shuttle Challenger Crew Tuesday, January 28,
1986"
Look at the document "Presidential Remarks: Death of Space Shuttle Challenger Crew Tuesday,
January 28, 1986" below. Answer the following questions.

Note transmitting President Reagans draft of the Challenger Speech, along with the
speech itself

David Chew, the Staff Secretary sent the speech to President Reagan. President Reagan was
given a draft of the Challenger speech before the final version was typed up. As far as we know,
he did not make any changes. Those are his initials at the top of the first page of the speech.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

What do the initials "RR" stand for?

What important address was the president expecting to give that night?
How do you know? Provide a quote to back-up your response.
How many astronauts died on board the shuttle Challenger?
What was unique about this particular mission?
Had Americans lost astronauts in space prior to this accident?
List two adjectives to describe the mood of the president and of the nation on this day.

8.

Pretend you are a teacher watching this space shuttle take-off from your classroom with
your class. What would you say to your students after the space shuttle explodes?
9.
Imagine you are the president and have just been informed of this incident. What do you
think your role is in this tragedy?

#3 "White House Staffing Memorandum"

Examine the page titled "White House Staffing Memorandum" below. Answer the following
questions.

Memo transmitting Challenger speech to John Poindexter of the NSC, along with the
draft of the Challenger speech
The speechwriter's office would send a copy of the draft to selected offices in the White House
so they could make comments and suggestions for changes. The arrow shows that this copy was
sent to Poindexter, at the NSC. There are two sets of changes made to this draft. By comparing
the different drafts offered in this exhibit, you can see that the first annotation was made by NSC
staff. We believe that the other handwriting was made by the speechwriting staff, possibly Peggy
Noonan.
1.

Why is it marked "ASAP"?

2.

What do you think this memorandum is used for? Why?

3.

What role did Admiral John Poindexter play in the Reagan Administration?

4.

What is the NSC?

5.

Why would the NSC be reviewing the president's remarks?

6.

What role did Ben Elliott play in the Reagan Administration?

7.

Examine the changes made by the NSC. List two changes which the president
incorporated in his remarks.

8.

List two changes which the president did not incorporate in his remarks.

#4 High Flight Poem

Look at the poem titled, "High Flight." Answer the following questions.
High Flight
Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds, - and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of - wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there,
I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air. . . .
Up, up the long, delirious burning blue
I've topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, or ever eagle flew And, while with silent, lifting mind I've trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.
Written by Pilot Officer Gillespie Magee, No 412 squadron, RCAF
Killed 11 December 1941
1.

Why is this poem appropriate for the remembrance of the Challenger?

2.

Why is it included in this speech file?

#5 Examine the letters written to President Reagan. Answer the following questions.

Letter from Charles F. Brannan

Letter from William E. Brock

Letter from Rev. Bob Walton

1.

Why have they been saved in the speech file?

2.

Summarize one of the letters in two-three sentences.

#6 Write your own letter to President Reagan.

Imagine you are a student back in 1986. Write your own response to the president's speech. Write
about your feelings about the speech and your reaction to what the president said. Use the source
documents in the speech file to support your thoughts.
Remember to include in your letter a heading, address, greeting, closing and signature. The body
of your letter should be at least two paragraphs. Be aware of your audience and maintain an
appropriate voice throughout your letter.
Address your letter to:
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20500

High Flight
By John Gillespie Magee, Jr.
(A sonnet written by John Gillespie Magee, an American pilot with the Royal Canadian Air
Force in the Second World War. He came to Britain, flew in a Spitfire squadron, and was killed at
the age of nineteen on 11 December 1941 during a training flight from the airfield near
Scopwick.)
Portions of this lovely poem appear on the headstones of many interred in Arlington National
Cemetery, particularly aviators and astronauts
"Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of earth,
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I've climbed and joined the tumbling mirth of sun-split clouds and done a hundred things You have not dreamed of wheeled and soared and swung high in the sunlit silence.
Hovering there I've chased the shouting wind along
and flung my eager craft through footless halls of air.
"Up, up the long delirious burning blue
I've topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace,
where never lark, or even eagle, flew;
and, while with silent, lifting mind I've trod
the high untrespassed sanctity of space,
put out my hand and touched the face of God."
High Flight was composed by Pilot Officer John Gillespie Magee,
Jr., an American serving with the Royal Canadian Air Force. He
was born in Shanghai, China in 1922, the son of missionary parents,
Reverend and Mrs. John Gillespie Magee; his father was an
American and his mother was originally a British citizen.
He came to the U.S. in 1939 and earned a scholarship to Yale, but in
September 1940 he enlisted in the RCAF and was graduated as a
pilot. He was sent to England for combat duty in July 1941.
In August or September 1941, Pilot Officer Magee composed High
Flight and sent a copy to his parents. Several months later, on
December 11, 1941 his Spitfire collided with another plane over
England and Magee, only 19 years of age, crashed to his death.
His remains are buried in the churchyard cemetery at Scopwick, Lincolnshire.
Biography and photo courtesy of the United States Air Force
Updated: 22 May 1999 - Updated: 13 March 2004 Updated: 18 May 2009

http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/highflig.htm Webmaster: Michael Robert Patterson