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From: MCamericanpresident
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  • They wanted to touch the face of god and they did:) RIP

  • I was 16 when this disaster occurred. I was in my typing class (back in those days computers were still fairly new and not the household standard they are now) and the announcement came over the intercom that Challenger had exploded. I lived near NASA Goddard and a friend's dad had worked on the payload on this mission. :sigh:

  • As so many, I remember watching this when I was in middle school. And I remember watching this speech in the evening with my parents. One of the best tributes given in the modern era. 

  • I can't not tear up when I watch this! One of the best addresses I've ever heard.

  • like if you heard about this from American Dad

  • The Challenger disaster is one of my earliest memories. I come from a NASA family. Well said, Mr. President,

  • He's a good speaker.

  • @sightlesssamurai biggest understatement ever!! lol

  • @sightlesssamurai Well, not for nothing was he known as the Great Communicator.

  • This could be the best address I've ever heard..politics aside

  • I just turned 0:08 to 0:28 into a song.

    = )

  • I remember this

  • I was nearly seven when I saw this speech. Watching it now is surreal.  One of the best written ever.

  • Can you imagine Obama in this scenario? He probably would have said something like "Told you we should have shut down NASA, now blood is on their hands." and use the crises to dismantle the Space Program. But as for the speech, its the 20th Century's response to the Gettysburg Address. Just over four minutes long, it packs a lot of punch for its length and is, like Reagen, immortal. Is there room for one more head on Mt. Rushmore?

  • This speech gives me goosebumps! Such a great orator

  • what the hell is owl city?

    a city for owls?

  • @daedralord1 Owl City is the name for a musical project by a singer called Adam Young. He wrote a song called Galaxies about the incident being addressed in this speech and just before the song plays on his album it's preceded by a short clip called January 28, 1986 which is this speech shortened. Hope that helps :)

  • @daedralord1 ahh Thank you very much :)

  • OWL CITY!!!!!!'

  • Owl City Made A Song For This!! 

  • Last line gave me shivers

  • @HeliWolf420 yup, your not the only one my friend.

  • american dad brought me here, wtf's owl city? -__-

  • Nobody gives a shit if Owl City brought you here.

  • " . . . to touch the face of God" = chills down my spine.

  • @jazzguitar2010 Reagan actually borrowed that from the poem called 'High Flight' by John Gillespie Magee, Jr. in case you didn't know already.

  • No umm's or and's or retarded breaks in speech, all written by Reagan. No hint of narcissism or bullshitting, just a man giving a speech on a tragic loss almost immediately after it occured, not wait a week then mention it in piss poor speech.

    This man is the complete opposite of Obama.

  • @Nationofhonor Well said. Definitely. 

  • @Nationofhonor More like the opposite of Bush.

  • does it really take a pop song to get people to watch a video involving a beautiful speech about one of the most tragic days in American History? Do they just not teach this stuff in schools anymore? I came to this video having no clue that so many people only watched this because of some band and now I'm disappointed beyond belief.

  • one of the best speeches ever!

  • What a great person.

  • One of the truly great presidential speeches, it gets me emotional to this day.

  • I'm crying now.

  • goosebumps everytime

  • This is real, inspired leadership in the midst of tragedy, unmatched in generations.

  • Well, he WAS an actor! Fantastic writing and an absolutely perfect speech. Fantastic!

  • Great Speech,Great Man,Great President.

  • An idiot in office? You mean the idiot that's lowering the national debt that "ronny" pumped steroids into? You people are ridiculous you watch one speech of this man and automatically coin him the best? Give the future a chance and either kill or sterilize yourselves.

  • @Oz11Key "ronny" didn't really have anything to do with this debt. Blame it on W. The 80's was the last optimistic time for America

  • Speeches like this one make me miss Reagan.  Very sincere man.

  • Awesome speech. Still gets to me years especially the 'touching the face of God' line. Carved in my memory forever as are those other two tragic Shuttle lines, 'Challenger go with throttle up' and the chilling, repeated, 'Columbia Houston UHF Comms check' to which there was no response. Rest in peace those who never lived to see this day, your bravery and achievements will not be forgotten.

  • No other modern president can touch the hearts of so many americans like Reagan.

  • @xxKYLExGxx Scholars seem to disagree with you since they put him up there with the great orators like Lincoln.

  • "the future doesn't belong to the faint-hearted, it belongs to the brave."

  • 2:27

  • Like if you discovered this video because of Owl City ^.^

  • @testing2488 yup, I think i was 4 when he was pres.

  • @testing2488 I discovered this video because of great literature. Not some man named Adam, trying to cash in on the deaths of human beings and the events that shortly followed. I love Owl City, but seriously. Go to hell. If a song is what it takes for people to hear and feel quite possibly the best speech in America's history (Germanfag here), you don't belong here.

  • @DrKatuhstrofik Who says he made the song for profit. I feel like he was trying to respect those who died. I looked up this video because of that song. A song is just as important as "great literature" so I do not see why I do not belong here. I guess you must be a hipster.

  • @DrKatuhstrofik if you actually knew anything about the MAN behind Owl City, you would know Adam is not trying to cash in on anything. He is simply paying respect to these people and commemorating them. And if you say "great literature" brought you here, I could make the same idiotic argument that the publishers who put this literature into print is just trying to cash in the life of a great president named Ronald Reagan.

  • @testing2488 how does this link owl city? I love the music, but i do not know much as to what the songs mean...

  • @twinatlantic10 there's a track on owl city's album titled January 28th, 1986.. with reagan's speech

  • @testing2488 are you a fucking retard??? You are telling me that you discovered this speech, one of the greatest speeches in American history, given by Ronald Reagan, one of the top 10 greatest presidents of America, about the Challenger Space Shuttle Disaster, because of an Owl City video?!?! You my friend, are a pathetic human being!

  • @145njx well, first of all, I'm not from the US of fucking A. And from where i'm from, nobody can even list 5 out of 7 of my OWN country's president, so what the fuck do u think i know about Reagan?! Also, when the Challenger Incident happened, my parents weren't even married yet! I'm sorry for being such a 'pathetic human being' but i seriously feel that you are living in your own fucking would which just makes thing just sadder for you. You appear to believe that everything is run my USA,

  • @145njx well my friend, you are fucking retarded for thinking that way. My comment was not to promote Owl City or anything. If not for Owl City, I would not have given a fuck about the 'great' speech of which u speak. I would have i know that the Challenger incident was a really sad day for USA. If not for that song, I would not have been aware about Reagan's speech at all. 

  • I wasn't even alive for this but it still gave me misty eyes. Adam Young brought me here today and on a happier note, this video was posted on my birthday!

  • owl city brought me here and now i'm fascinated in knowing more and Ronald Reagan seems to the best speech giver ever i actually cried as though it was part of my family and R.I.P all the crew people are still thinking of you and condolences to all their families through the years

  • Owl city anyone?

  • Heartfelt speech that really captured the moment

  • Ronny were are you? We sure need you back. We got an idiot now who has no Idea what he is doing.

  • I love how he totally attacked the Soviet union by saying "we don't hide are space program and cover things up" total shot at the Soviets

  • I dont care what you think of Ronald Reagan but this has to be the most heart felt speech a president has ever given.

  • I dont care what you think of Ronald Reagan but this has to be the most heart felt speech a president has ever given.

  • As a Black man growing up in a Democratic family, I used to hear my parents lamenting how horrible Reagan was as President. Ignorantly, I parroted their protests. Now, looking back, as a Conservative with the benefit of wisdom, and experience, I can say that Ronald Wilson Reagan was far and away the best President that this country has ever known. Mr. President, you are missed Sir, and I am glad that you have reunited with God, and do not have to see what our once great Nation has become. R.I.P

  • @jacksge He wasn't bad, but greatest? Ahead of people like Lincoln, Washington, FDR? Please.

  • This was a serious event...why the dislikes. Anyway that Owl City Clip brought me here wanting to know EVERYTHING that happened now I just wanna say R.I.P the Crew of the Space Shuttle Challenger.

  • 7 dislikes? Makes sense...creepy.

  • I compared this to Bush's speech on the loss of Columbia...Bush's speech was nowhere near as powerful. It seemed almost forced. This speech is incredible. He never looks down at notes or anything. You can tell it is straight from the heart.

    RIP crew of Challenger...

  • "They wished to serve, and they did...They served all of us."

    So did, you, Mr. President. So did you.

    And we thank you.

  • reagan was one of the most caring and sincere presidents of all time and this speach shows that RIP reagan

  • @coolmusic767 I am NOT Left or Right, I am RIGHT (as in correct, for all of you Kool Aid drinkers). perhaps I AM the only "hateful" person here, but that simply shows how unintelligent and narrow minded the majority of America is. End of story.

    Consider this one for the Gipper. LOL!!!!!

  • I don't give a damn what you liberals say... President Reagan was one of the BEST Presidents our country has ever had, and we need a man like him right now...

  • Owl City

  • Sir. Frances Drake is my great, great, great grandfather D:

  • A true leader! not like now>>

  • @tiquilajoe. WTF !?!? Was it Reagan or the senate who made the decisions u talk about?

  • Space is a waste of a LOT of money. People are starving, and we are shooting fucking rockets. And waging illegal wars. The DC money tree always bears fruit! Too bad nobody gets any. Kill the govt.!

  • Those last twelve words ring in my ears and conjure up the painful feelings from that day for me. A lasting tribute to seven brave men and women who will never be forgotten, just as we will never forget Columbia after nor Apollo I before. My hope is that we summon the courage to continue this journey and beyond, since we've barely tiptoed into our galaxy.

  • The only "surly bonds" were those imposed by this jerkoff on the poor and middle class.

  • Here is one tidbit, you dumbasses! All of you!

    The Reagan administration eagerly armed Islamic fundamentalists as a proxy force against Soviet troops only to see these “freedom fighters” morph into the Taliban and Al Qaeda. Fact, sheep!

  • Reagan was a jackass! You idiots haven't a clue.

  • @TequilaJoeID you are a pathetic piece of shit. i bet you are an Obama fan. He's sure doing a fantastic job..... not. boy he sure sounds like george w. bush with his talks about Libya doesnt he? but you probably wouldnt recognize that because hey, he's a flaming liberal just like you so whatever he says must be right. Its so funny how those criticize Bush and Reagan yet when their puppet of a president Obama switches gears and starts sounding like a republican they dont even get it.

  • @jk3hunter Idiots are people who don't use reality & facts to make up their mind. Seeing how you want to put everyone On the liberal and or conservative team, proves your cognitive ability does not allow you understand that reality allows you to call a steaming pile of shit a steaming pile of shit ! It's called being correct and not looking through the haze of political, social norms and the biggest distorter of reality religion.

  • @TequilaJoeID If I saw you, I'd put my boot SO far up your pussy ass, it would come out of your juvenile mouth, punk! I am NO Obama fan either, Nostradamus! I'll say it again, Raygun was a piece of shit, and fools like you have not a clue. Die, MFer! "88"

  • @TequilaJoeID you're quite mature. I expect this from people like you. Nice word play you really are quite clever. "Raygun", my you show quite the intelligence. did you come up with that all by yourself?

  • @jk3hunter My word play is better than your punctuation, BTW. Maybe if I have NOTHING to do one day, I'll post here a SLEW of the things that this jackass fucked up. Including the criminal acts, and those of his cabinet and administration. Oh. I know, 'nothing different than other administrations', but the fact remains is that this jerkoff was the beginning of the end of America. And the beginning of the current fiasco. Just read a bit, dude. The facts can be found. Dumbass Americans.

  • Peggy Noonan wrote that speech.

  • Rest in Peace, Gipper! We miss you and sorely need another man like you today!

  • all these years later this still gives me goosebumps.

  • God bless the Space program.

  • "They slipped the surly bonds of earth, to touch the face of God." ... EPIC

  • @encierro75 The line was lifted from a Canadian WW1 poem. No big deal though, on this day of the last shuttle launch, I remember with fondness the program and this incredible speech

  • @doctorbearingtonmd Wrong. He paid homage to and paraphrased part of a nice poem in an inspirational speech to a grieving America. A poem which, by the way, partly plagiarized an earlier poem about flight in the first place.

  • quite possibly the greatest president of all time

  • @R3zD0g The greatest? Debatable. But he certainly is in the top 10 at the very least.

  • @sushiking1223 we will have to agree to disagree lol :P

  • Christa McAuliffe, the first school teacher and part Arab-American astronaut.

  • Comment removed

  • "...and slipped the surly bonds of Earth to touch the face of God." I was 6 years old when the Challenger disaster happened, and even now when I hear that line, I choke up a little.

  • NATIONALISM and PATRIOTISM is everything we have..........And the whole world knows that this moron[R.R.]worked only for the interest of the greedy capitalistic pig's.He undermined with lies and lies,with the so call Democracy,the most sacred to us all:The honor of each nation to their own self-determination and rule.So stop putting this asshole at the same level with decency and honesty....!

  • @TOLTECAAZTECA

    Jeez bro have some class. Publish your opinions if they're that important and stop yelling at people over youtube idiot.

  • @RaWr0103 Ronald moron Reagan alway's warned us all about the dangers of '''THE TYRANY OF COMMUNISM'' And here you are telling me NOT to do such thing.What you are telling me to do is call:CENSORSHIP.this is not the united states of americunt.........This is the fucking world wide web and is a brand new world.........So fuck off!

  • @RaWr0103 And fuck you!

  • Please God, send us another Regan! The last of the honest, honorable Presidents.

  • I had the opportunity and the priviledge of meeting and spending a little time with President Reagan towards the end of his second term, and I can tell you that the man was sharp as a tack, and also still had an equally sharp wit and sense of humor. If he was significantly slowing down mentally from Alzheimer's in his final term, I sure didn't see it. He was a kind, sincere, and tough President-one of the best.

  • I'm probably tainted because I was so young, but Reagan just looked like a textbook American president, especially in formal address. I say this not in any partisan sense, it's just an observation.

  • @kasteman1 Too bad all presidents since Reagan, including our present one, have been a disaster. I am so glad I grew up during the Reagan administration, so I have personal knowledge of what it is like to have a real president. I remember this day (the Challenger explosion) very well. It was very comforting to know that we had such a steady hand at the wheel in president Reagan. Everything today and for the past decade is/was just smoke, mirrors and propaganda. Our country deserves better.

  • @baguazhang77 Are you joking? If only we could print money like we did with Reagan.

  • @DCStream Actually, it is you who must be joking :) In Obama's first year of office, he and the Democratic Congress spent more money than president's Washington through Clinton combined. By LOWERING TAXES and stimulating the economy, Reagan MORE THAN DOUBLED REVENUE to the federal government. It is the (then democratic) congress who regulates the federal budget and spent $1.70 for every dollar that came in.

    I do not like politics, the Democrats or the Republicans, but the facts are the facts.

  • @baguazhang77 For starters, there's not enough words to describe how little I care about irrelevant discussion of Obama's presidency. the only reason why I don't thin we'd want another Reagan was his frivolous spending. Despite any argument for how many jobs he created, what wars he won, and how charismatic and comforting of a president he was, he still raised the nat'l debt by over 50% and increase federal spending by 15%. Anyone can be king for a day with a six figure bank loan, no?

  • @baguazhang77 To sum up my opinions; speaking on terms of domestic policy and civil services, Reagan was an awesome president. On spending and deficit reduction… not so much. He would've been great after a president like Clinton, with a surplus to work with. Instead, we got Dubya, and I'm sure we can both agree he'd fall into one of the worst.

  • @DCStream I agree that deficit spending for any reason is wrong, by Reagan, 'W', Obama, etc. My only point is that it is not fair to paint Reagan's as the poster administration for deficit spending, when his congress shared so much of the blame for it, and Obama/congress have brought deficit spending to such inconceivable levels, that I would dream of having an 80's level deficit now. I also had to point out that lowering taxes did not cause the deficit, but increased revenue to the government.

  • RIP Mr. Reagan, you Sir are missed! America will elect another Reagan Conservative, God Bless you Sir!

  • You call that Alzeheimers symptoms. To those who say Reagan showed symptoms of that disease while he was president, I sincerely don't believe you. RIP Ronald Wilson Reagan and RIP those seven brave souls who lost their lives on the challenger that day ;(

  • @RyanTheIncredible882 Reagan was showing some EARLY signs of Alzheimers towards the latter years of his presidency. He often looked confused, and very often said "I just don't remember/recall that." He didn't make as many public appearances during his last two years. I'm not saying this to be mean or because I didn't agree with all of Reagan's policies. However, in all fairness, his mind did seem to be slowing down near the end of his presidency.

  • i nearly cried right there at the end "to touch the face of god" i don't even believe in god.

  • Even though I don't like this guy's policies, this is a powerful speech.

  • 80's President and the last great president.

    RIP! Ron

    Different and in my opinion a better world back then.

  • America needs another Reagan

  • The Gipper was a true gentleman

    From the Old School

    Am inspirational leader when being American meant something.

  • This man was a real president not Obama!

  • One of the greatest presidential speeches by any President.

  • Reagan was my President growing up. He meant alot to me and I remember this speech and the Challenger tragedy.What a great public speaker and a memorable President, RIP, and we miss you Ronnie.

  • What a great pres he was,go figure,he even believed in god!!!!What has this nation come to!!!

  • @nasttyy22 All Presidents have believed in God, or you think that Obama is an Atheist ?

  • Definitioninfinition .... You're an idiot!

  • Isn't the president the reason they died...? Janitor inspected the shuttle when it was frozen, President didn't care and said the shuttle MUST go to space NOW. Then the ice messed up the flight and the shuttle disintegrated/exploded...

  • America Needs you Ronny.BAD!

  • I remember that day very well, shuttle flights had become routine by the mid '80s, too routine. A tough lesson was learned and how sad that the teacher would end up on this mission. The toughest thing to watch was the reaction of the kids at her school watching live in the auditorium....stunned silence, then sadness. And the reaction of the families watching at the launch site...

    And I miss the great Ronald Reagan. His words were comforting and I have no doubt truly heartfelt.

  • This was amazingly comforting when I felt there could be no comfort. Possibly his finest hour as President.

  • I wish the United States had a President like Ronald Reagan right now. Reagan is so much better than that populist puppet that's currently in office.

  • @testdummy007

    Jump in front of a fucking truck

  • @jaholder I did it but nothing happened. I guess you should have specified a "moving" truck, adding a speed coefficient of a sufficient value to provide, what I believe to be, an expected result that looks like my death. Am I right?

  • @testdummy007

    Jump in front of a f*cking truck

  • My, how things have changed. Back then, we faced adversity and said, "WE'RE NOT GOING TO STOP!". Great leadership will do that. Today, something bad happens and we automatically cancel the program, or create more laws. We are weak today.

  • @vegasgleason Bingo ! You just summed up exactly whats wrong with America. We have no sense of curiosity and exploration.

  • Well done

  • Thank you. I was working as a cabinet maker 25 years ago today. President Reagan's words were a comfort then as they are hearing his speech again today. RIP Challenger 7.

  • I remember Russians in my old neighborhood gloating about how their space program was better than ours when this happened. Cold-hearted bastards. I don't trust them at all today any more than I did during the Cold War. Americans better quickly wake up to their bullshit instead of opening their arms to everyone.

  • @chessarama What I remember is in Moscow after the twin towers were struck, the next morning out entire neighborhood, the local Russians had surrounded it with flowers and signs saying that they stand with us. I remember working with a Russian group to bring food into Cote D'Ivoire, and I remember two of them giving their lives to save our American group. They've stood by us in our hardship and the other day at the Moscow airport I stood with them in theirs. Nothing unites man more than tragedy.

  • I was in the 4th grade when the accident happened. Thankfully we didn't see it, b/c our teacher was going to tape it and show it to us later, but she told us what happened when we came back from recess. I watched it and President Reagan's speech that night after school. I have never forgotten it or forgotten how comforting Reagan was both with his demeanor and his words. This tragedy stayed so strongly in my mind that I feel it helped make me who I am & proves how things shape your future.

  • Probably the greatest speech he gave. I felt like my own grandfather was tyring to comfort me. RIP President Reagan...

  • Amen Reagan....Godspeed Challenger crew

  • May those killed never be forgotten.

  • I remember this. I was in high school when this happened and I remember his speech he gave that night. Reagan always had a way of making you feel like everything was going to be ok. He has been my favorite president ever since. He was an awesome leader and we will probably never see another like him in our lifetime.

  • I sat on the carpet and watched the Challenger with my second grade class that morning. And that night, I remember crawling a little closer to the TV at home as Reagan began to speak to the schoolchildren. Thank you President Reagan.

  • Amen.. God bless the crew of the Challenger and President Reagan.

  • What an awesome President.

  • I wasn't even alive for the Challenger disaster, but this still brought tears to my eyes. What a way to honour them.

  • God Bless President Reagan. He was a true leader. Obama does not have it in him to do what President Reagan did - LEAD. May God bless America and the families affected in Arizona.

  • Now THAT was a GREAT memorial speech by a president! 

  • Maybe Obama should have watched this before his pep rally last night to understand better how to memorialize the fallen.May God bless you, President Reagan, for showing us how to lead with comfort and compassion during a national tragedy.

  • Wow! Now that's a President!

  • @Calsummersishere amen!!!

  • Gorgeous, his words are inspirational. I just listened to his entire speech a couple times on this track called "Windsor Airlift - A Lovely Wedding, Snow and Sky". The first couple minutes is more like ocean/nature sounds and then right around 2 minutes Reagen's speech comes in. One of the most beautiful things I ever heard.

  • Holy crap I got memorize this for tomorrow god help me

  • @TheVideoGamerWeekly : Were you able to do it?

  • @vccstudents : Change it forward.  My personal challenge: how to do it without being elected president. ;])

  • JESUS! 25 years and those words still make me cry. I've forgotten what it was like to have a truly eloquent president.

  • @buzzclick500 He took pretty good care of his country, too. He's sorely missed, and not just by Americans.

  • @supercreamysperm : I hope he can hear your words; he'd appreciate them. ;])

  • Reagan was THE LAST GREAT PRESIDENT!

  • @vccstudents : So far. I trust time and nature to reward our patience and faith with another one like him during my lifetime. It's been a long, dry spell.

  • God I miss voting for that man

  • @guelphgryphon : The two presidents in my life so far that had an active interest in America's health and well-being: Kennedy and Reagan.