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| In the back row from left to right: Ellison S. Onizuka, Sharon Christa McAuliffe, Greg Jarvis, and Judy Resnik. In the front row from left to right: Michael J. Smith, Dick Scobee, and Ron McNair. |
Our 1st grade classroom was dark. It was a special day. A teacher was going into space. How cool was that? Our teacher, Mrs. Jones, had turned all 25 of our little seats around to watch the television. She had taught us all week about the space shuttle Challenger carrying the first civilian into space, Christa McAuliffe. We were all so excited. As we watched the television our little eyes took in everything. Then it happened.
73 seconds....until the explosion.
The Challenger had exploded on national television and in front of the astronauts family, 25 first graders, and the world. I remember my teacher crying. Then another teacher came in from across the hall with tears in her eyes as well. I remember being scared yet intrigued. As a history/current events nerd I became obsessed. At six years old I remember asking my mom for the Time and Life magazines that profiled each astronaut and their path to the Challenger shuttle. I still have those magazines 25 years later. My mom and I always talk about how her generation had all the historical events. I love asking her where she was when JFK and Martin Luther King were shot? This was my first historical moment that I can remember and it still brings back memories of that innocent classroom. We honor those that lost their lives.
What do you remember about the Challenger explosion?
I was in that classroom with you. I remember it like it was yesterday...sitting there so expectantly, waiting for the exciting moment when the shuttle lifted off. I can remember not quite understanding what had happened when it exploded in front of our eyes...in my little 6-year-old mind, I think I wanted to believe that was what was MEANT to happen, that it was normal and that everything was going to be okay...but one look at Mrs. Jones's face made it clear that something truly horrible had happened. I remember the rest of the day being so eerily silent throughout the halls of Reeves Rogers. I remember in the days following, making homemade cards for the victim's families. Wow. 25 years. Has it really been 25 years? Amazing how you can blink and a lifetime has passed. God bless the Challenger victims, their families, and the memory of our wide-eyed, innocent 6-year-old selves...watching a truly heartbreaking moment of American history being made.
ReplyDeleteI regret to say that I had NO idea about any space shuttle being launched that day. It just wasn't anything I was interested in at the time. I was in the 9th grade and I remember things being...very quiet for some reason. Then I found out from classmates who were watching it in class. I actually got excited when there was a roomer going around that the crew possibly survived in the "crew comparment". I figured if they landed in water, then they were safe because water was a "soft" landing. It was then that my father explained to me that, water can be like hitting land when an object is moving at high speed. Sadly it was confirmed that some of the crew died on impact. I hope they were not conscious during the drop.
ReplyDeleteYour teacher, Mrs Jones, was a trooper that day. She helped you and your classmates get through that traumatic event. I also recall, there was a teacher at Reeves Rogers, who was a finalist in the bid for the teacher spot on the shuttle. Mrs Jones was great with the group.
ReplyDeleteThis event is one of your JKF, MLK, RFK life moments. The life lessons we learn may be very painful at the time but we do get the message from the lesson as we grow older and somewhat/hopefully wiser.