taken a slingshot around the Moon).
It is a very small contingent and
encountering similar groups of people
is not a common thing, but it does
happen occasionally.
“I had the opportunity at the
Memorial Day parade this year, to
meet four survivors of the Doolittle
Raid. My father was a contemporary
of Jimmy Doolittle, born in the same
year. But instead of racing around the
pylons, he would be a judge at the
Cleveland air races.
“I went up to the copilot who
don’t know if there was another
B-25 commander in the crew that
survived. but Colonel Dick Cole was
two things i want to talk to you about.’
One is the same thing that I told Jimmy
after my father died. I said ‘Jimmy do
you know that our rocket was taller
than your takeoff roll on the carrier?’
I decided that I would tell Dick Cole
sunk in what I was talking about. And
then I said ‘Now there’s another thing
that whenever I am introduced as a
speaker or in the audience, or at an
occasion, it is almost unanimous – very
very rare is there ever an exception
– that I’m introduced as the second
man on the Moon.’ And I said to
Dick, ‘Now we share that in common
because you’re going to be known as
don’t think he was too worried about
that.
“It is one of those undone things that
i’m going to get together with one or
more of the four of them and have
them consider what their reunions
have meant to them for 72 years.
“I’m always interested in people
recognizing that it was not just 12
Americans who landed and walked
on the Moon, but it’s 24 who reached
the Moon. That was enabled by four
learning missions and one emergency.
I think that 24 is a much better number
for students to be aware of, but I have
given up on the State Department
recognizing all 24 living or deceased
as lunar ambassadors. All American
and foreign space people should be
aware and reminded of what’s gone
before them.”
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