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50 years ago, at my elementary school in Hayward California, we watched as TV news of our mission to the moon rolled out. I may not remember much of my early education, but that stands out as the highlight of it.
I am so proud of our NASA employees and of our country.
Hunter
Me too. Thanks for posting this
Even being so young i remember it too... We lived in Florida for a while and use to go to Vero beach to watch the Gemini and early Apollo launches.... I was too young to remember much but have seen home video of the trips...
It was a fantastic achievement...I had just been separated from the USAF, and was probably looking for work...Our President, ever the canny poker player, had hedged his bets by having William Safire write an alternate speech for him in case the men did not all return safely...Fortunately, Nixon got to take credit as being the man in the White House at this time of triumph...Incidentally, Nixon's poker skills allowed him to supplement his Navy income somewhat while posted on Vella Lavella in an area of the Solomon Islands known as "The Slot"...His luck was said to be so uncanny that he had difficulty finding chumps to sit down with him...Another future President, a PT boat commander at the time, visited Vella Lavella to refuel his vessel a few times, and may have met Lt. Nixon, but likely had the sense to avoid any card games although he was known to enjoy poker himself...Nixon in later years said he could not recall having met Lt. Kennedy...
The man whom Nixon relieved as Commander-in-Chief in later years was also present in the South Pacific, having resigned as a Congressman to accept a commission in the Navy and possibly gain some war experience to add to his resume...Lt. Cmndr. LB Johnson was assigned to gather information for President Roosevelt as part of a three man survey team, and at one point was to board a B-26 bomber as an observer during an air strike on New Guinea...At the last minute, Johnson had a sudden and compulsory need to make a latrine call, and missed the flight...He was able to catch the next one and made the flight armed with his movie camera...It was his lucky day, as the first aircraft was shot down with no survivors...The aircraft he was on gained mixed reports as to why it was forced to return to base prematurely...
Official records show the B-26 had generator trouble and was forced to turn back...Johnson's biographer tells it differently, stating the aircraft came under attack, lost an engine, and had to fight its way back to a safe landing...In any event, Johnson's report to the President and to Congress told of conditions coinciding exactly with General MacArthur's description, gaining the General the support he wanted...Coincidentally, MacArthur recommended Johnson for the Silver Star, and personally pinned it on him, although Johnson was an unarmed observer on the flight, and took no hand in combat...He was also the only member of this mission to receive a decoration of any kind...Many pictures of Johnson as President show him wearing his Silver Star...
Sorry for the detour, but all this was fresh on my mind from some research I'm doing for another book...At any rate, the 1969 moon mission was an astounding success for the USA regardless of who gets the credit...It was a team effort all the way...:usa:...Ben
I was 4 years out of the Army and close to graduating with my undergraduate degree. The entire program was a unifying influence on the country---we were proud of NASA and the USA :usa: I tried never to miss a launch, be it radio or TV---I would have hung on the side if they would have allowed it.
After graduation I was working for a very large consulting company and had the exciting honor of working on the VAB (Vehicle Assembly Building), That building is so large that until the doors were in place and we could start the AC systems we would often get clouds forming in the top preventing any high work!
We need another common success that we could unite around and feel positive about our government and our collective abilities.
Excellent posts, my friends.
Hunter
Totally agree with you in I think the way you mean it.Quote:
We need another common success that we could unite around and feel positive about our government and our collective abilities.
With the flock of no count politicians we have now that would probably mean we gave control of our government to the blue hats and opened up all the borders while cutting our military spending in half. Not what you said I know, not implying that you said it either.
One more Apollo 11 story...If not for a 10 year old boy on Guam with small arms, the return trip to Earth could have ended in disaster...:usa:...BenQuote:
After Apollo 11 began its departure from the moon, a problem arose — a bearing had broken in the dish antenna needed to track the ship. Without it, NASA risked losing the ability to communicate with the capsule as it approached Earth.