The Kennedy Era and the Legacy of Flight

I am mourning the passing of Senator Ted Kennedy this morning. As a child of the 1960s (I was born in 1959) the Kennedys have always been part of my consciousness with regard to who Americans are and what they can be.

As a boy, with a cheap Sears telescope and a Polaroid camera, I took pictures of the moon, inspired by President John Kennedy’s challenge in May 1961 that Americans should fly to the moon and explore it by the end of the decade. Of course we accomplished the president’s goal early and the whole world cheered the brave pilots of Apollo 11 who in 1969, ably flew to the most distant place we could yet reach. It was a singular human accomplishment that has not been surpassed in over 40 years. No country but ours has ever flown man to the moon, to walk there.

As I look back on it now, as I near the age of 50, I realize that the event is so historic and memorable because it happened at the intersection of leadership, science, technology, education, dreams, and daring, and exemplified to the world the better nature of Americans.
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