Message to Nikolai V. Podgorny, Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, on the Death of Three Soviet Cosmonauts.
Dear Mr. Chairman:
The American people join me in expressing to you and the Soviet people our deepest sympathy on the tragic death of the three Soviet cosmonauts. The whole world followed the exploits of these courageous explorers of the unknown and shares the anguish of their tragedy. But the achievement of cosmonauts Dobrovolsky, Volkov and Patsayev remains. It will, I am sure, prove to have contributed greatly to the future achievements of the Soviet program for the exploration of space and thus to the widening of man's horizons.
Sincerely,
RICHARD NIXON
Note: Lt. Col. Georgiy T. Dobrovolsky, 43, Commander of the Soyuz 11 mission, Vladislav N. Volkov, 35, flight engineer, and Viktor I. Patsayev, 38, test pilot engineer, died as a result of the sudden depressurization of their spacecraft while returning to earth, after docking with and then entering the first space station and setting a new record for man's endurance in space.
Richard Nixon, Message to Nikolai V. Podgorny, Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, on the Death of Three Soviet Cosmonauts. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/240334