Man on the Moon

A speech prepared in the event of the unimaginable happening during the Apollo 11 moon landing mission has recently surfaced. The document was prepared by President Nixon's speech writer for the President to read should The Eagle be unable to leave the surface of the moon.

It is a hauntingly somber speech. One I am glad we are only learning about today.

Fate has ordained that the men who went to the Moon to explore in peace will stay on the Moon to rest in peace.

Link - via regalbeagles

From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by no not that alex.


Well, not quite recently. It was known for several years that this speech existed. In view of all the risks and the absolute impossibility to mount any rescue, from the getgo 2 sets of any speech to comment on key-moments were written. ...At least, that is what I learnt here in my History-lessons.

But it sure does make you wonder about all those other occasions how the alternative speech would have gone...
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the oddest thing about this speech is that the deaths are still future tense, because they are marooned without hope of rescue. Most similar speeches these days relate to past tense tragedies, a plane has crashed or a shuttle exploded.
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Parts of the speech are shown in the 2007 documentary "In the Shadow of the Moon," which is an absolute must-see for anyone interested in the space program: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0925248/

Seefish: No, it's not on paper. It's film of Nixon delivering a prerecorded speech.
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@Seefish3

You have no idea the amount of information is boxed up and archived. It's not a surprise to me that it's not digital concidering that Nixon didn't like computers in his administation and felt they would never make it into common use. Lots of information out there that is classified, much of it doesn't really need to be.
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This reminds me of the speech Dwight Eisenhower kept in his pocket in case the D-Day landings failed.

“Our landings have failed and I have withdrawn the troops. My decision to attack at this time and place was based on the best information available. The troops, the air and the Navy did all that bravery could do. If any blame or fault attaches to the attempt it is mine alone.”
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