Lyndon B. Johnson photo

Telegram to the Administrator, NASA, Following the Meeting in Space of Gemini 6 and Gemini 7.

December 15, 1965

I WANT to congratulate the astronauts and the thousands of scientists, technicians, and administrators for the success of today's rendezvous. You have all moved us one step higher on the stairway to the moon. By conducting this adventure for all the world to see, you have reaffirmed our faith in a free and open society. We invite those throughout the world who have shared our suspense and suffered with us during our temporary failures to share with us this triumph, for it belongs not just to the United States but to all mankind. Our efforts in space will take us not only to the moon but, by increasing our knowledge of technology and the world around us, to a better life for all.

"Without adventure," Alfred North Whitehead said, "civilization is in full decay." Today's accomplishment is a new declaration of the vigor of our society and the hope all men can hold for the future.

LYNDON B. JOHNSON

[Mr. James Webb, Administrator, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Washington, D.C.]

Note: See also Items 636, 647, 656.

Lyndon B. Johnson, Telegram to the Administrator, NASA, Following the Meeting in Space of Gemini 6 and Gemini 7. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/240877

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