    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2003, Book II)]
    [December 17, 2003]
    [Pages 1736-1738]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks on the 100th Anniversary of the Wright Brothers' First Flight at
    Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina
    December 17, 2003

        Thank you all very much. Rain will never dampen our spirits. I'm
    honored to be here, and I'm honored to be in the great State of North
    Carolina.
        Madam Secretary, thank you for your fine
    leadership and your friendship. Secretary Mineta, thank you for your great leadership, as well. I'm proud
    that you're serving in my Cabinet. Mr. Governor, I appreciate your kind comments. I appreciate the values
    you hold dear to your heart, and I thank you for leading this great
    State.
        To John Travolta, we shall call him ``Moon
    Man'' from now on. I appreciate your friendship. I appreciate your love
    of flight. Thank you for being such a fine entertainer for millions of
    Americans, but most importantly, thanks for being a great American. I'm
    proud you're here.
        I appreciate the fact that the Secretary of the Navy, Gordon
    England, is here. The Secretary of the Air
    Force, James Roche, is traveling with me
    today. I appreciate Sean O'Keefe, who is the
    Administrator of NASA, who has come today. I thank all members of my
    administration who have joined us. I hope you were smart enough to have
    brought an umbrella. [Laughter]
        I know we've got Members of the Congress who are here. Senate
    Majority Leader Bill Frist from Tennessee is with
    us today. Senator Frist, thank you for coming. Senator Elizabeth
    Dole from the great State of North Carolina
    is with us. Senator Dole, thank you for being here. All Members of
    Congress from North Carolina and from other States, thank you for being
    here. I know we've got mayors and State officials.
        I appreciate so very much American heroes who are here, well-known
    and not so well-known heroes. Let me name four of the well-known heroes
    who are here: Neil Armstrong; Buzz
    Aldrin; John Glenn; one

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    of the great fighter pilots ever, Chuck Yeager, is with us today. We're honored to be in your
    presence. Thank you for being pioneers.
        I'm also pleased that we're joined by Stephen Wright and Amanda Wright Lane, who both bear one of the great American names.
        Powered flight has advanced in ways that could not have been
    imagined on December 17, 1903. And in the future, flight will advance in
    ways that none of us can imagine as we stand here today. Yet always, for
    as long as there is human flight, we will honor the achievement of a
    cold morning on the Outer Banks of North Carolina by two young brothers
    named Orville and Wilbur Wright.
        Orville Wright lived to see the days of barnstorming and military
    aviation, the jet engine, commercial airlines, and the DC-3. The thrill
    of his life, however, was surely right here when he felt that first lift
    of the wing. He flew just 12 seconds and 40 yards, moving so slowly that
    his older brother ran alongside. And later in the day, with Wilbur at
    the controls, the machine stayed in the air for 59 seconds and traveled
    852 feet. Yet everyone who was here at that hour sensed that a great
    line had been crossed and the world might never be the same. A local boy
    named Johnny Moore was one of the witnesses. He ran down the beach and
    said, ``They done it. They done it. Damned if they ain't flew!''
        The anniversary now observed might have fallen a few days earlier,
    on the 13th. But December the 13th, 1903, was a Sunday, and the brothers
    had promised their dad they wouldn't attempt to fly on the Sabbath. And
    on the day they did fly, just like today, the conditions were not ideal.
    But they went ahead anyway, so they could get home to Dayton, Ohio, for
    Christmas.
        Orville and Wilbur were, in so many ways, ordinary Americans, and
    hearing of their plans, a lot of folks must have thought those boys
    should have stayed in the bicycle business. The story is told of a
    newspaper editor who heard what the Wright brothers had been up to. He
    said, ``Man will never fly, and if he does, he won't be from Dayton.''
    [Laughter]
        The United States Patent Office also had its doubts. So many others
    had submitted plans and models of flying machines that when the brothers
    sent in theirs, patent officials had a ready response. The office
    concluded the plans were inadequate and the machine could never function
    as intended. The New York Times once confidently explained why all
    attempts at flight were doomed from the start. To build a flying
    machine, declared one editorial, would require ``the combined and
    continuous efforts of mathematicians and mechanicians from 1 million to
    10 million years.'' As it turned out, the feat was performed 8 weeks
    after the editorial was written. And not only did the machine perform
    its function, that little wood and canvas aircraft had brought together
    all the essentials that still give flight to every modern aircraft, from
    a single-prop plane to Air Force One.
        The Wright brothers had some disappointments along the way, and
    there must have been times when they had to fight their own doubts. They
    pressed on, believing in the great work they had begun and in their own
    capacity to see it through. We would not know their names today if these
    men had been pessimists. And when it was over, they marveled at their
    own achievement. As Orville wrote in a letter to a friend, ``Isn't it
    astounding that all these secrets have been preserved for so many years
    just so we could discover them.''
        The Wright brothers' invention belongs to the world, but the Wright
    brothers belong to America. We take special pride in their qualities of
    discipline and persistence, optimism and imagination--of people like
    them and a lot of other people throughout our history. So many great
    inventions arose in this country, and so many of the great inventors
    came from unlikely backgrounds. The Wright brothers had their storefront

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    bicycle shop. Thomas Edison was a newsboy. Eli Whitney and Henry Ford
    worked as farm hands. George Washington Carver was born a slave. There
    is something in the American character that always looks for a better
    way and is unimpressed when others say it cannot be done. Those traits
    still define our Nation. We still rely on men and women who overcome the
    odds and take the big chance with no advantage but their own ingenuity
    and the opportunities of a free country.
        A great American journey that began at Kitty Hawk continues in ways
    unimaginable to the Wright brothers. One small piece of their Flyer
    traveled far beyond this field. It was carried by another flying
    machine, on Apollo 11, all the way to the Sea of Tranquility on the
    Moon. These past 100 years have brought supersonic flights, frequent
    space travel, the exploration of Mars, and the Voyager One spacecraft,
    which right now is moving at 39,000 miles per hour toward the outer edge
    of our solar system. By our skill and daring, America has excelled in
    every area of aviation and space travel. And our national commitment
    remains firm: By our skill and daring, we will continue to lead the
    world in flight.
        This day, however, is one for recalling an heroic event in the
    history of our Nation and in the story of mankind. Here at the Wright
    Brothers National Memorial, we remember one small machine, and we honor
    the giants who flew it.
        May God bless you all, and may God continue to bless America.

    Note: The President spoke at 9:37 a.m. at the Wright Brothers National
    Memorial. In his remarks, he referred to Secretary of the Interior Gale
    A. Norton; Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta; Gov. Michael F.
    Easley of North Carolina; and actor John Travolta, who served as master
    of ceremonies. The Wright Brothers Day proclamation of December 17 is
    listed in Appendix D at the end of this volume.