Apollo Moon Missions The Unsung Heroes

About this book

In 1961, President John F. Kennedy issued a challenge: the United States would land a man on the moon and return him safely to Earth before the end of the decade. It seemed like an impossible task and one that the Russians--who had launched the first satellite and put the first man into Earth orbit--would surely perform before the USA. The ingenuity, passion, and sacrifice of thousands of ordinary men and women, from all walks of life, enabled the space program to meet this extraordinary goal. In all, six crews would land on the moon before Congress withdrew financial backing for the program. This is the story of those men and women who worked behind the scenes, without fanfare or recognition, to make these missions a success. Thirty years later, they still speak of Apollo with pride, sometimes even awe.

After Apollo moonwalker John Young told journalist Billy Watkins in a 1999 interview that "nobody knows anything about the people who helped make those flights so successful," Watkins made it his mission to identify the unsung heroes and learn their stories.

Contents

Foreword by Fred Haise; * Preface; * Acknowledgements; * History of Apollo; * Book I: "...the Eagle has landed": Steve Bales; * Bruce McCandless; * Richard Underwood; * Clancy Hatleberg; * Book II: "We're not the Soviets": Julian Scheer; * Joseph Laitin; * Hugh Brown; * Book III: "Thunder at the Cape": Joann Morgan; * Joe Schmitt; * Jack King; * Book IV: "Marriage, Missions and Moon Cars": Joan Roosa; * Rodney Rose; * Gerry Griffin; * Sonny Morea; * U.S. Manned Missions Summary; * Glossary.

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Biography

BILLY W. WATKINS has been a newspaper reporter for three decades, and his work has earned him more than 40 regional and national awards.