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One of the most illustrious figures in the history of South Carolina was Lake City native Dr. Ronald E. McNair. Though McNair is widely remembered as one of the seven astronauts killed in the January 28, 1986 explosion of the space shuttle Challenger, he led a distinguished life on the ground as well. In addition to logging 191 hours in space on the Challenger‘s February, 1984 mission, McNair was a renowned laser physicist, a fifth-degree black belt and karate champion, saxophonist and composer, and husband and father. The below park and museum honor the life and many accomplishments of Dr. McNair, who was 35 when he died. |
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Planning for the Dr. Ronald E. McNair Memorial Park in the astronaut's home town began in 1989 as a collaboration among the Ronald McNair Committee, a community organization dedicated to opening a McNair museum; the City of Lake City; and the Lake City Library Board. The city broke ground on the park in 1991, and it was dedicated on February 11, 1992, eight years to the day of McNair's completed mission as a specialist on the Challenger‘s first landing at Kennedy Space Center. Three years later, a life-sized bronze sculpture of McNair, created by Detroit artist Ed Chesney, was added to the park along with a granite memorial to McNair made by the Coastal Monument Company in Conway.
above quote from https://www.scpictureproject.org/florence-county/ronald-e-mcnair-memorial-park.html |
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Below: Karen Duquette took individual photos of each section on the monument behind Dr. Ronald E. McNair's statue. |
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Below: Monument about Dr. Ronald E. McNair's Memorial and Scholarship fund plus his memorial stone. |
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Continue on with the year 2020- 
