[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 30 (Tuesday, February 25, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E279]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




EXPRESSING CONDOLENCES OF THE HOUSE TO THE FAMILIES OF THE CREW OF THE 
                       SPACE SHUTTLE ``COLUMBIA''

                                 ______
                                 

                               SPEECH OF

                          HON. JOHN M. McHUGH

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 5, 2003

  Mr. McHUGH. Mr. Speaker, today I rise with a heavy heart, joining 
with the rest of the Nation in sorrow for the loss of the Columbia 
Shuttle and its seven heroic crew members. This tragedy, felt so deeply 
by all Americans, holds particular poignancy throughout my district. 
Both Payload Commander Michael Anderson and Pilot William McCool leave 
friends and family behind in New York's North Country.
  Michael Anderson was born along the Canadian border in Plattsburgh, 
NY, in 1959, as his father served at the former Plattsburgh Air Force 
Base. Less than 40 years later he would return as an Air Force officer 
himself, working to the rank of lieutenant colonel before joining the 
NASA astronaut program in 1995. Today, many men and women in 
Plattsburgh remember Michael fondly. Ricky Jenkins, a 71-year-old 
Vietnam War veteran who worked with Michael at the former Plattsburgh 
Air Force Base, said in the local newspaper soon after the shuttle's 
loss ``I was so very proud of him for doing what he was doing. He was a 
role model . . . I will never forget Michael.'' Hours after President 
Bush helped the astronauts' families celebrate their loved ones at a 
national service in Houston several weeks ago, the Plattsburgh 
community celebrated Michael's life in particular with their own 
candlelight vigil. A youth choir, Boy Scouts honor guard and 
presentation by Gov. George Pataki marked the celebration. Plattsburgh 
Mayor Dan Stewart spoke for the community earlier in the day. I share 
their sentiments here: ``This is our opportunity as the birthplace of a 
national hero to send our condolences. It's for them to know we are 
with heavy hearts in Plattsburgh.''
  Less than 200 miles west of Plattsburgh, at the Army's Fort Drum base 
in Watertown, Warrant Officer Shawn McCool grieves for his brother, 
Columbia Pilot William McCool. Shawn McCool said his brother was one of 
his favorite people in the world, one of his greatest heroes. To the 
McCool family, and the families of all the astronauts we lost, I pledge 
that their loved ones' deaths are not in vain. Their enthusiasm and 
passion to explore the skies beyond us in the interest of mankind will 
always hold our deepest gratitude. And the space program their 
husbands, wives, mothers, fathers, sons and daughters died for will 
live on in their honor.
  As we begin to understand the circumstances surrounding Columbia's 
loss that Saturday morning over Texas, we must remember what NASA 
embodies. It was founded in 1958 to explore a new frontier, discover 
new heights and wonders in science. It is responsible for cutting-edge 
aeronautics research in a aerodynamics, wind shear, wind tunnels, 
flight testing and computer simulations. It has performed invaluable 
research on ways to dampen the effect of shock waves on transsonic 
aircraft. It has also launched a number of significant scientific 
probes that have explored the moon, the planets and other areas of our 
solar system. NASA has been responsible for the Hubble Space Telescope 
and other revolutionary space science spacecraft that enabled 
scientists to make a number of significant astronomical discoveries in 
our universe.
  I truly believe the lives the men and women of Columbia led, like the 
lives of those astronauts who went before them, exemplify the 
commitment that lies behind our nation's space program. In an e-mail 
transmission hours before the Columbia crew attempted to return home, 
Michael Anderson illustrated their passion with these words: ``It's 
kind of with mixed emotions that we get ready to come home. But we have 
enough fond memories to last us a lifetime.''
  As the House Science Committee, led by my colleague and New York 
neighbor, Sherwood Boehlert, initiates its investigation, Congress 
pledges to focus on which policies may have contributed to this 
tragedy. We owe nothing less to those we now mourn, Michael Anderson, 
William McCool, Rick Husband, Laurel Clark, Kalphana Chawla, David 
Brown, and Illan Ramon.

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