Bill Clinton: “Act of 1998 July 22, 1998 Death of Alan B. Shepard, Jr. Thank you very much. Ladies and gentlemen, before I make my…”

“Act of 1998 July 22, 1998 Death of Alan B. Shepard, Jr. Thank you very much. Ladies and gentlemen, before I make my statement, I would like to amplify a little bit on the remarks I made earlier this morning on the death of Alan Shepard. He is one of the great heroes of modern America: our first astronaut; our first American in space. None of us who were alive then will ever forget him sitting so calmly in Freedom 7, atop a slender and sometimes unreliable Mercury Redstone rocket. As President Kennedy observed at the time, America chose to make this first risky launch in full view of the world, and our entire Nation, in his words, ``which risked much, gained much.'' Alan Shepard understood the odds. He faced them bravely, and he led our country and all humanity beyond the bounds of our planet, across a truly new frontier, into the new era of space exploration. A decade later, in 1971, Commander Shepard fought his way back from a debilitating ear infection to become the commander of Apollo 14 and the fifth person to walk on the Moon. On behalf of myself and Mr. Bowles, I can't help noting that there, on the Moon, he lived every golfer's dream--[laughter]--taking his six iron and hitting the ball, in his words, ``for miles and miles.'' [Laughter] Alan Shepard truly had the right stuff. His service will always loom large in America's history.…”