“I was privileged to first meet Jackie over thirty years ago, shortly after my orbital flight, when she and President Kennedy were in the White House. There were so many good times back then that it would be hard to recount all of them.

“Those who have described those years in the White House as Camelot surely know that a very large part of the reason was the style and the class and the elegance that Jackie brought to her duties as First Lady.

“Along with all other Americans who lived through that period in history, Annie and I stood literally in awe — utter awe — of the dignity, the grace, and the courage that she displayed in those sad and awful days following the President's assassination in Dallas.”