Giffords gives medal to husband
About 50 people gathered to witness the ceremony, presided over by Vice President Joe Biden, in the Secretary of War Suite in the Eisenhower Executive Building, next to the White House.
Kelly, a Navy captain, came in with his family, including daughters Claudia and Claire Kelly, his mother, Patricia Kelly, Congresswoman Giffords, and her mother, Gloria Giffords, about 1:40 p.m. There was prolonged applause.
The congresswoman's friends and colleagues, including U.S. Reps. Nancy Pelosi and Debbie Wasserman Schultz, sat in the first two rows. Giffords gives medal to husband,
"It's really special to have the vice president as the retiring official. Not very many people get to do that," NASA Administrator Charles F. Bolden said earlier, as those gathered awaited the start of the ceremony. "And I think it's quite appropriate, given, you know that his wife is a sitting congresswoman. Mark's been an incredible leader for us in the astronaut office. We're sorry to see him go."
The visit marked Giffords' second trip to the nation's capital, and one of her few public appearances, since she was shot in the head during what authorities charge was an assassination attempt at a "Congress On Your Corner" constituent meet-and-greet Jan. 8. Giffords retirement ceremony, Distinguished Flying Cross medal,
At the ceremony, Giffords wore glasses, a red blazer, black pants and running shoes. Her hair is still short but has grown out a little since her Aug. 1 vote on the debt ceiling. She sat in the front row, next to her chief of staff, Pia Carusone.
She stood up on her own for the Pledge of Allegiance and invocation. The room where the ceremony took place is decorated with the first U.S. flag to fly over Paris after its liberation at the end of World War II.
"Our nation has gained in the gift of self from this great citizen," said the House chaplain, Rev. Patrick Conroy.
One of Kelly's daughters helped award Kelly the Legion of Merit, and Biden helped pin it on his jacket after it came loose. Giffords retirement ceremony,
Giffords got up on her own to help present her husband with the Distinguished Flying Cross medal, which he earned for commanding the fourth and final flight of the space shuttle Endeavour.
Giffords pinned it on her husband's jacket with her left hand. Biden pointed out that she did a better job with the pinning than he did.
Biden said he was honored to officially retire Kelly. Kelly and Giffords asked that he perform the ceremony, he said.
"As vice president I get to work with an awful lot of people who devote their lives day to day to public service," Biden said. "But it's not everyday you encounter examples of sheer, sheer courage, selflessness and dedication, like you see in this couple."
He said Kelly has "commendations galore," including top decorations given by the Pentagon and NASA. He noted that service is a Kelly family tradition. Both of Kelly's parents were police officers and Kelly's identical twin brother, Scott, is also an astronaut.
Biden said Kelly did his job with "humility and humor." On one shuttle mission that included the task of repairing a faulty toilet at the International Space Station, Kelly, "floated through the airlock and said, 'I understand you are looking for a plumber.' And one hell of a plumber you were."
He commended Kelly for leading the Endeavour space shuttle in May and spoke directly to Giffords, saying she is an inspiration to thousands of people who suffer from traumatic brain injuries.
Read more: tucsonsentinel
