[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 94 (Tuesday, July 19, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: July 19, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
     COMMEMORATING THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE APOLLO MOON MISSION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Pete Geren of Texas). Under the 
Speaker's announced policy of February 11, 1994, and June 10, 1994, the 
gentleman from Texas [Mr. Sam Johnson] is recognized during morning 
business for 4 minutes.
  Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, this morning I want to talk 
about some friends of mine, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. Buzz Aldrin 
and I went through flying school together and fought in Korea together. 
We were fighter pilots together.
  Twenty-five years ago tomorrow, Neil Armstrong and my friend Buzz 
walked on the Moon. Among their footprints and the American flag is a 
plaque stating ``We came in peace for all mankind.''
  If left undisturbed by man, the scene will remain entirely as they 
left it for many thousands of years. My hope is that we allow it to 
remain for history undisturbed. Our research and space programs have 
been destructively reduced, so I come to the well today to speak of 
that yesterday, the Moon landing, and all the tomorrows ahead of us. We 
owe the fine men and women of the Apollo program, both in space and on 
the ground, our thanks. Counting Apollo 11, there were six Apollo 
missions to the Moon until 1972. No other nation has returned since 
then.
  Twenty-five years have passed since that first space walk. An entire 
generation has grown to adulthood without knowing space travel. What 
many of you accept as part of your consciousness being an eyewitness to 
such a moment as I was, this generation can have no experiential 
feeling for. So you might ask me if it is really so important to have 
been a part of that particular moment in time. My answer is a 
resounding yes.
  But, you see, I missed it. When Aldrin and Armstrong were flying to 
the Moon, I was sitting in the Hanoi Hilton prisoner of-war-camp in 
Vietnam. I not only missed all of the Moon missions but I thought the 
Russians had gotten there first because that is what the Vietnamese 
told us.
  Buzz said he waved to me as he flew over Vietnam. In 6\1/2\ years, 
you miss an enormous amount of shared reality and freedom that your 
contemporaries take for granted. So I firmly believe that it is 
imperative we impart the facts as well as the feelings to this latest 
generation.
  I hope July 20, 1969, will be remembered as a day when courage 
overcame fear of the unknown, when confidence replaced doubt, when 
insurmountable odds became a challenge, when humankind reached beyond 
the bounds of reality, not just to touch the unknown but to embrace it.
  You see, mankind is at its best when confronted with tough 
challenges. I would like to be able to tell my grandchildren that when 
we faced tough choices and long odds, we looked into an uncertain 
future with the same courage that the Apollo astronauts had. That we 
decided bold ventures and glorious undertakings were to be found not on 
the fields of battle but inside microscopic worlds and out there among 
the stars.
  So take a little time tomorrow to remember Apollo 11 and Michael 
Collins, Neil Armstrong, and Buzz Aldrin and to thank them for more 
than just the mission. America owes them a great deal.

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