Mitt Romney: "I'll tell you a story that you may have heard. I was a boy scout leader some years ago. And I was at a boy scout court of honor for Michael Table... The person speaking was the scout master from Monument, Colorado. He said that the troop there in Monument wanted to have a very special flag. So, they bought one, it was one with the gold tassels around on the outside. And they had it flown above the capitol building. And when it came home, they said, well we can make it more special. So they contacted NASA and said will you take the flag with us on the space shuttle. And NASA said, well space is at a premium in space, but they sure sure we'll take this boy scout souvenir on the flight. And he said that the boys were so proud. They were looking for it from their home rooms on TV as they watched the shuttle launch, and saw the rocket taking that shuttle in the air. And then they saw it explode on the TV screen. And he said, he called NASA a couple weeks later and he asked, is there any remnant of our flag? And they said no, we haven't. And he said, he called every week for months and still no word of any remnant of the flag. And then I think it was about September that he mentioned, he was looking through an article about some of the debris that had been found from the Challenger disaster and they mentioned a flag. So he contacted NASA and they said, that in fact we do have a presentation to make to you. And so the boys and their troop got together with a representative of NASA. And the boys were handed this plastic container. And they opened the container and there was there flag in perfect condition! And he said, that's the flag that's at the end of the table next to Mr. Romney. It was on that flagpole. And, so I reached out and I grabbed it and held it out and it was as if electricity was running through my arm. I thought of those astronauts and what they sacrificed, and why they sacrificed, for learning, for discovery. We're pioneers. It's in our nature to live for something bigger than our self. To give ourselves for great things. It's what Americans do!
