Challenging Free Frontiers

#86002     72″ X 50″     ac

“The sacrifice of your loved ones has stirred the soul of our nation and, through the pain, our hearts have been opened to a profound truth: the future is not free, the story of all human progress is one of a struggle against all odds. We learn again that this America, which Abraham Lincoln called the last best hope of man on Earth, was built on heroism and noble sacrifice. It was built by men and women like our seven star voyagers, who answered a call beyond duty, who gave more
than was expected or required, and who gave it with little thought to worldly reward.Today, the frontier is space and the boundaries of human knowledge. Sometimes, when we reach for the stars, we fall short. But we must pick ourselves up again and press on despite the pain. Our nation is indeed fortunate that we can still draw on our immense reservoirs of courage, character and fortitude – and that we are still blesses with heroes like those of the space shuttle Challenger.”

– excerpt from President Reagan’s eulogy at a memorial service for the seven Challenger astronauts at the Johnson Space Center in Houston on January 31st., 1986.