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President John F. Kennedy's Moon Mission Speech at Rice Stadium
September 12, 1962
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Play Reel One - Description of event by Ray Miller, and introductions
A note from Scott about these tapes... On September 12, 1962, President John F. Kennedy gave a now-famous speech at Rice Stadium, at which he committed the United States to send a man to the moon and return him safely to earth before the end of the decade. Years later, when I was a student at Rice, I came upon several copies of this audiotape recording of coverage of the speech which were being thrown away, and I saved one set of the tapes. While there are copies of the speech itself available on various web sites, I find this set particularly interesting because it includes a description of the entire event, providing some historical "feel" for the times, and some nostalgia for those who lived in Houston then. These recordings were made from live television coverage of the speech on KPRC-TV. The reporter is the late Ray Miller, familiar to longtime Houstonians as news director at KPRC-TV and host of "The Eyes of Texas". The first "reel" of the recording is Mr. Miller's description of the crowd and festivities leading up to the arrival of the president, and the opening introductions. Miller's comments include mention of a circling airplane towing a banner reading "Enforce the Monroe Doctrine", apparently in protest of the administration's handling of the Cuban missile crisis. (Imagine what would happen if any airplane circled a venue where the president was speaking in current times.) 
The ceremony opens with The Star Spangled Banner, performed by the Waltrip High School band. The invocation is then delivered by the Rev. Don Peavy. (If anyone knows or knew Rev. Peavy, please let me know so I can properly identify him.) Rice President Dr. Kenneth Pitzer then introduces a long list of local, national and international dignitaries (including a Republican senator travelling with the president). After short comments by Congressman Albert Thomas and then-Vice-President Lyndon Johnson, Dr. Pitzer introduces President Kennedy. Reel two consists of the president's speech, followed by the benediction by Rabbi Robert I. Kahn, who served for many years as rabbi of Congregation Emanu El. Ray Miller then adds some closing comments, including the street-by-street route of the president's travel to a NASA facility. (Again, imagine that being announced today.) The president's speech was more than simply an announcement of the moon landing goal. It was also a stump speech for the concept of using American tax dollars to fund this effort. Recognizing concerns about the military use of space by Russia, the president spends considerable time making the case for the peaceful use of space, including a call that space shall not be "filled with weapons of mass destruction". And, in a well-known segment of the speech, he poses the rhetorical question "Why, some say, the moon?", answering with a list of comparable challenges, including "Why does Rice play Texas?". Thanks to Cory Kennedy, Director of Governmental Relations at Rice, for having the reel-to-reel tapes converted into a digital format so that this can be preserved and shared. (Photo from NASA web site.) |