55 lines
1.8 KiB
Markdown
55 lines
1.8 KiB
Markdown
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title = "safire_memo"
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```txt
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To : H. R. Haldeman
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From: Bill Safire July 18, 1969.
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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IN EVENT OF MOON DISASTER:
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Fate has ordained that the men who went to the moon to
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explore in peace will stay on the moon to rest in peace.
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These brave men, Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin, know
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that there is no hope for their recovery. But they also know that there
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is hope for mankind in their sacrifice.
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These two men are laying down their lives in mankind's
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most noble goal: the search for truth and understanding.
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They will be mourned by their families and friends; they
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will be mourned by their nation; they will be mourned by the people of
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the world; they will be mourned by a Mother Earth that dared send two
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of her sons into the unknown.
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In their exploration, they stirred the people of the world to
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feel as one; in their sacrifice, they bind more tightly the brotherhood
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of man.
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In ancient days, men looked at stars and saw their heroes in
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the constellations. In modern times, we do much the same, but our heroes
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are epic men of flesh and blood.
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Others will follow, and surely find their way home. Man's
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search will not be denied. But these men were the first, and they
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will remain the foremost in our hearts.
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For every human being who looks up at the moon in the
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nights to come will know that there is some corner of another world
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that is forever mankind.
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PRIOR TO THE PRESIDENT'S STATEMENT:
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The President should telephone each of the widows -to-be.
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AFTER THE PRESIDENT'S STATEMENT, AT THE POINT WHEN NASA
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ENDS COMMUNICATIONS WITH THE MEN:
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A clergyman should adopt the same procedure as a burial at
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sea, commending their souls to "the deepest of the deep," concluding
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with the Lord's Prayer.
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```
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