December 24th, 1968- Christmas Eve. 1968 was a very turbulent year. The disagreement over Americas military presence in Vietnam was festering. The USS Pueblo had been taken and her crew had been held hostage by the North Koreans. Martin Luther King, Jr. was killed at the hands of an assassin as he was trying to do good. Robert Kennedy, the brother of the slain President, was killed at the hands of an assassin as he was trying to do good. A generation of young Americans had shown the world that they would not stand with the policies of the current Presidential administration. 1968 was a very turbulent year. Shortly after the success of the first Apollo test flight in October, NASA received word that the Russians were going to send a manned mission to the Moon. While the next planned mission was scheduled to be a test of the lunar module in Earth orbit, and a lunar orbital mission a few months after in early 1969, plans were quickly rearranged so that the next Apollo mission in December would beat the Russians to reaching, not LANDING on the Moon. With an occasion as momentous as this, words had to be said when reaching the Moon- words of great importance. But, WHOSE words? It was decided by the crew, with suggestions from friends that this was a mission for all of creation to watch and enjoy, therefore- what better way than to read the story of the Creation from the Book of Genesis as Man was looking at what God had created? And so, as Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and Bill Anders were on their 10th and final orbit of the Moon, taking still pictures and beaming live video of what would be considered as the planets first-ever selfie, the importance of this mission took center stage. The next morning, on the way back to Earth, the crew got word from Mission Control that NASA received a telegram from an American citizen that said in three simple words: You saved 1968. I finish as they closed: Good night. Good luck. A very Merry Christmas. And God Bless all of you. ALL OF YOU on the Good Earth.
Posted on: Thu, 25 Dec 2014 02:13:03 +0000