December is a remarkable time of the year—a time for giving and receiving. Some celebrate Christmastime as a remembrance that God gave the world his Son, Jesus Christ, who taught us to love one another and to be good human beings. Regardless of one’s spiritual preferences, we all share some important beliefs about this time: it is a time for brightening the long winter days with sparkling trees, visiting friends and family, and giving and...

In this holiday season, we all remember Christmases past—the best present ever received or the most perfect gift ever given. In 1968, a miracle happened that made it my most memorable. In 1968, President John F. Kennedy’s goal of landing a man on the moon by the end of the decade and returning him home safely seemed unachievable. The U.S. space program was recovering from that terrible 1967 Apollo 1 fire which had taken the lives of three...