great speech, never delivered

[Ken Gargett]

fortunately, there was no need for it, but it would have been a great speech.

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

These brave men, Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin, know that there is no hope for their recovery. But they also know that there is hope for mankind in their sacrifice.

These two men are laying down their lives in mankind’s most noble goal: the search for truth and understanding.

They will be mourned by their families and friends; they will be mourned by their nation; they will be mourned by the people of the world; they will be mourned by a Mother Earth that dared send two of her sons into the unknown.

In their exploration, they stirred the people of the world to feel as one; in their sacrifice, they bind more tightly the brotherhood of man.

In ancient days, men looked at stars and saw their heroes in the constellations. In modern times, we do much the same, but our heroes are epic men of flesh and blood.

Others will follow, and surely find their way home. Man’s search will not be denied. But these men were the first, and they will remain the foremost in our hearts.

For every human being who looks up at the moon in the nights to come will know that there is some corner of another world that is forever mankind."

- Richard Nixon

President of the USA

1969

Composed, just in case, by Presidential speechwriter and author, William Safire.

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[bolivr]

Excellent, inspirational speech. Possibly if events had turned out that the speech was actually delivered it might have meant people had a slightly higher opinion of Nixon. Powerful words, thanks for posting Ken.

[Dara]

I got very worried that Ken was being so eloquent until I saw it was written for Nixon....ken could lead a revolution with the right speechwriter!!

[Fuzz AI]

That speech was actually in the first draft of the script. However, after negative feedback from the test audience in a few advanced screening of a failed lunar landing (the original film had the lander burying itself into the Moon), the director decided to go with the more suspenseful ending where they land with only seconds of fuel left.