He had been one of the last seven people to see Columbia’s crew on January 16, when he helped strap them into their seats in the orbiter before launch. Now, at a spot near a magnolia tree with a stream running beside it, he saw a cross and flowers marking where remains of one of Columbia’s crew members had come to Earth. “I just couldn’t go any further,” he said. “I stayed there for about forty minutes. That’s where I put them to rest. And then I went on and did my job.” One of the
