But Colonel Ramon will be in our hearts forever.

The officials said they had originally planned to be here to celebrate Colonel Ramon's return from the shuttle mission.

The delegation hopes to take Colonel Ramon's remains back to Israel.

They walked hand-in-hand away from the lectern and stood over Colonel Ramon's coffin.

The son and grandson of Holocaust survivors, Colonel Ramon, 48, was the first citizen of his country to go into space.

The students had met once with Colonel Ramon.

He recalled how Colonel Ramon's children asked their father to turn somersaults in space.

A brother-in-law of Colonel Ramon appeared briefly on the radio today, but he was crying so hard that the interview was abandoned.

Because of Colonel Ramon's participation in the mission, security was extraordinarily tight.

Colonel Ramon was already a hero in his country for his military exploits.