On Monday, September 14, 2009, I addressed my Leadership VA class in Chicago. The VA and the U.S. Navy are jointly building the new James A. Lovell Medical Center north of Chicago. And I wanted to explain to my classmates who Jim Lovell was and what he meant to me. Here is the text of my speech.
My Hero Jim Lovell
When I was a child, my hero was Jim Lovell.
When I was a child my father and I were students of the United States Space Program. We followed each Apollo Mission closely. We read every book we could get our hands on. And we built models of the Lunar Module, Command Service Module and launch vehicles.
When I was a child, my hero showed us that in the absolute worst of times our nation was still capable of achieving great things.
When I was a child, my hero demonstrated that in the face of unprecedented disaster and unimaginable disappointment a leader never loses his resolve or focus. Where others may see failure, he seized opportunity.
1968.
1968 could have been the worst year in our nations history. In many ways, 1968 was the worst year in this nations history.
April 4, 1968. Memphis , Tennessee . The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated.
June 6, 1968. Los Angeles , California . United States Senator Robert Francis Kennedy was assassinated.
Later that Summer, right here in Chicago , not far from this hotel, citizens peacefully assembled to demand Civil Rights at home and an end to war abroad were met with ferocious violence.
It only got worse from there.
1968 could have been the worst year in our nations history. In many ways it was. But in December 1968 my hero James A. Lovell and the crew of Apollo 8 Frank Borman and Bill Anders showed the world that even in the absolute worst of times our nation was still capable of achieving great things.
In December 1968, the crew Apollo 8 became the first humans to ever fly on a fully assembled Saturn 5 rocket. The most powerful flying machine ever built by human hands.
The crew of Apollo 8 would launch on that mighty Saturn 5 rocket and travel to a place no humans had ever been before: the Moon.
Arriving at the Moon and entering Lunar orbit on Christmas Eve 1968, while a world wide television audience watched and listened, the crew of Apollo 8 read the Book of Genesis.
The Book of Genesis. The beginning of history. The beginning of life. The beginning of wisdom.
1968 could have been the worst year in our nations history. In many ways it was. But the crew of Apollo 8 Frank Borman, Bill Anders and my hero Jim Lovell - showed us that even in the absolute worst of times this nation was still capable of achieving great things.
Now, the following year, 1969, saw four more Apollo missions.
Apollo 9 and 10 were very important test flights.
Apollo 11 saw the first humans walk on the surface of the moon.
And Apollo 12 saw the first Texas Longhorn, Alan Bean, walk on the moon.
The next year, 1970, NASA decided to undertake the most ambitious scientific and geological survey of the moon in history. And to lead this expedition, NASA selected my hero Jim Lovell, to lead Apollo 13. This expedition would be the crowning achievement of this astronauts career.
And in April 1970 the crew of Apollo 13 Jack Swigert, Fred Haise and their commander Jim Lovell -- launched for the Moon.
But en route to the Moon, disaster struck. An oxygen tank on board the Command Service Module exploded; crippling the ship, crushing the dream of walking on the moon and imperiling the lives of the astronauts.
Yet in spite of this unprecedented disaster and unimaginable disappointment, Jim Lovell never lost his resolve. He never lost his focus. He never panicked. And, where others may have seen failure, he seized opportunity.
Jim Lovell navigated his crippled ship around the Moon and back to the Earth. And he delivered his crew safely home.
When I was a child my hero was an astronaut.
And as I stand before you today I can tell you that in my heart I am still a child.
If you ever visit my office in Atlanta and I hope all of you will you can see those models of the Command Service Module, Lunar Module and mighty Saturn V rocket. They remind me every day that in my heart I am still a child.
In my heart I know that even in the absolute worst of times this nation was still capable of achieving great things.
I know that when life presents me with disappointment and disaster as it has and surely will I will not panic. I will not lose my resolve or focus. Where others may see failure I will seize opportunity.
Because my hero is Jim Lovell.
Thank you.
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Astronaut Jim Lovell - Interview on Obama Cuts for NASA (April 14, 2010)by TheApollo11Channel2,084 views
Thank you for this so much. He's my hero also. I have added your video to my playlist, "Pillars of My Principles." The flight of Apollo 13 is to me, and I worked in the space program for ten years, the greatest achievement of the space program.
WC3POchannel10A 1 year ago
who is this wanger. Yes true. But you need to dig deeper
Preacher60 2 years ago
Outstanding delivery, great speech. Long after we're gone, future historians have to be amazed that we really did it, went from horse-drawn carriage to powered flight to sending men to the moon and back, all in the space of a century. Jim Lovell (even if he was a Squid) represents the best of what we can be. He should remind us all (particularly those in the Party of No) that failure is never an option. If we can do space flight, we can most certainly provide health care to all Americans!
canslim1 2 years ago
What a great tribute to a great man. Well done! 6 stars from me!
momtobcandk 2 years ago
Excellent George! What a great reminder of how our heroes can impact our lives, very good timing for me. Thanks for sharing.
atlmessick 2 years ago
Thanks for sharing this - which in my world is like performing a concerto you composed yourself, from memory. Well done!
analyticalq 2 years ago
Bravo! (And Hook 'em!)
tjgpalmer 2 years ago
Brilliant!
ianandmasako 2 years ago
An awesome tribute to your hero. Nicely done!
Hinmaniac 2 years ago
Nice job George! Learned lots of things here!
mathgeek34 2 years ago