Judd Gregg: “Last night Alan Shepard died. Alan Shepard is a huge figure in the lives of those of us who are in that postwar baby…”

“Last night Alan Shepard died. Alan Shepard is a huge figure in the lives of those of us who are in that postwar baby boom generation which went through the Sputnik experience and the early days of our space program. He is a huge figure especially for those of us who come from New Hampshire, because he was born and raised in Derry, NH, a small town. In fact, a while after he went into space, for many years, Derry sort of changed its name and called itself Space Town in honor of Alan Shepard. He was really an extraordinary American, embodying so much of what makes our country a special place. He came from a small, rural community. It has gotten quite big. In fact, it is a city now. But when he grew up, it was still a small, rural community. He committed his life to service of this Nation and, of course, he was one of those exceptional people who was in the early test pilot program which transitioned into the early astronaut program. Alan Shepard was the first to go into space as an American, and his impact on our country was extraordinary because of that.”