People

by David A. Hall
President, Mapletree Publishing Company

On April 14 the second Mars exploration rover, Opportunity, received a software upgrade as it has continued to explore the surface of the red planet near its landing site. The area Opportunity is exploring has been named “The Challenger Memorial Station,” since the landing of Opportunity occurred close to the eighteenth anniversary of that tragic accident that claimed the lives of seven brave men and women. It was January 28, 1986 when an explosion only seconds after liftoff destroyed the Challenger shuttle, and stirred the hearts of our nation. Many of us still remember clearly where we were and what we were doing when we heard the news.

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The Plaque awarded to Troop 514 by NASA in recognition of the Challenger Flag.

There’s a story behind that accident, behind the shocking explosion of the Challenger. It’s the story of a flag and a Boy Scout troop and of persevering in the face of discouragement. It’s also an inspiring, patriotic story that will make your spine tingle. And that story is tied to a book that has just been released in national markets.

The Beginning

The story starts with an LDS Boy Scout troop from Monument, Colorado.

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In 1984, Air Force Major Bill Tolbert was called to be Scoutmaster in the Monument Ward. Starting with six young men, only one of whom had been involved with scouting before, Brother Tolbert felt he had a long way to go before he could turn them into a dynamic, committed Boy Scout troop. He was looking for something that would inspire the boys, something no other Boy Scout troop could say they had. He decided to ask Congressman Ken Kramer’s office to help them get as a troop flag, an American flag that had flown over the U.S. Capitol. The boys were impressed with the symbolism of this special flag, but that reverence changed to excitement over Brother Tolbert’s next idea: Get this flag to fly on a space shuttle mission!

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Tolbert, at the time, was Chief of the Manned Space Flight Division, Second Space Wing at Falcon Air Force Base near Colorado Springs, Colorado. Still, there was no automatic granting of his request. It took several months of plowing through red tape before the request was finally granted. The anticipation of this honor-of having their troop flag actually go up into space and back-caused a burst of energy in the troop. The boys learned all about the space program and astronaut training. They learned the names of the astronauts and their biographies, and shipped their flag to the Kennedy Space Center.

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With less than two weeks to go before liftoff, however, Bill got a call from NASA telling him that their flag had been bumped from the mission. Space was tight on the shuttle, and their flag wasn’t a priority. But Bill wasn’t about to give up that easily. He convinced the boys to go through the process again. Months later, he was able to announce again that the flag had been approved for a shuttle mission. However, once more, the flag was bumped from the flight only two weeks before the scheduled liftoff.

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As determined a personality as Bill was, he hardly had the heart to take his scouts through the process again. But, with a lot of talking, he was able to convince them to apply one more time. This time the launch date came and their troop flag was still a part of the mission.

The Tragic Morning

The Challenger liftoff was scheduled for a Tuesday morning in January. Because of Christa McAuliffe, the schoolteacher who had been honored to be a member of this shuttle crew, the schools broadcast the launch, and the boys all got to see it. They cheered and whistled as they watched the Challenger leave its launch pad and head upward into the sky. But it was only 73 seconds later that the spacecraft was destroyed by a tremendous explosion. They saw debris shoot out from the huge white cloud and fall down to the ocean below.

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The scouts were stunned. They sat, contemplating what they had just experienced, letting their emotions flow, and consoling each other. They had developed a personal attachment with the Challenger crew-they had learned the names and backgrounds of the seven astronauts. Added to that, thinking of their precious flag, for them it was almost as though eight crewmembers, rather than seven, had perished on the Challenger.

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A few weeks later, Bill organized a memorial service to honor the astronauts. The scouts came with their parents and others who were in some way affiliated with the government or the military. Additionally, several of the boys’ schoolteachers came to pay their respects to Christa McAuliffe. It was an emotional service. As part of his presentation, Bill presented each boy with a small American flag. NASA had sent these flags to the troop as a consolation and a memento.

But the grief and discouragement felt by the scouts wasn’t totally dispelled. The overall effect on the troop was negative. Enthusiasm waned; attendance fell. Bill made inquiries about the possibility of recovering the flag, but everyone who was familiar with NASA told him there was no hope.

A Flag Returns Home

The news didn’t come directly. Bill learned about it one morning, nearly eight months later, as he was reading the newspaper. He picked it up as he was leaving for work. The headline made his heart jump: “NASA to Return Challenger Flag to Boy Scout Troop,” it read. “My shoes almost blew off my feet,” he said later.

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Astronaut Guy Bluford, who had flown the Challenger for its last complete mission, had the honors of presenting the flag to the troop in a ceremony at Falcon Air Force Base in December 1986. When U.S. Supreme Court Justice Warren Burger learned of the Challenger flag, he designated it as the official flag of the U.S. Constitution Bicentennial, which was celebrated the following year. Troop 514 was honored at the Bicentennial Gala in September 1987 held at Constitution Hall, Philadelphia. When the troop left Philadelphia, they took the flag back to Washington, D.C., where it was reflown over the Capitol, completing an amazing journey from the Valley Forge Flag Company in Pennsylvania, to the U.S. Capitol, to the mountains of Colorado, to the Johnson Space Center, to the Kennedy Space Center, to the edge of space, to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, and all the way back!

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More recently, this flag was on display in the Joseph Smith Building for the Salt Lake City 2002 Winter Olympics, and at the September 2003 flag history display at the Independence, Missouri, Visitors Center. When you see this flag, you comprehend more fully the miracle that preserved it because you can see that it survived-not burnt, not in pieces, not torn, frayed, or even singed, but completely unscathed.

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Doesn’t that say something about the spirit of the United States of America?

The book, Threads of Honor: The True Story of a Boy Scout Troop, Perseverance, Triumph, and an American Flag, sells for $11.95 and is published by Mapletree Publishing Company. It includes the more detailed story of the Challenger flag, as well as a lengthy appendix containing photographs, a history of significant events connected to the American flag, and instructions on flag protocol and flag care. As of April 15, it is available from Amazon.com and all general bookstores.