“William Anders:
We are now approaching the lunar sunrise and, for all the people back on Earth, the crew of Apollo 8 has a message we would like to send you. In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
Jim Lovell:
And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.
Frank Borman:
And God said, Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good. And from the crew of Apollo 8, we close with good night, good luck, a Merry Christmas, and God bless all of you - all of you on the good Earth."
We are now approaching the lunar sunrise and, for all the people back on Earth, the crew of Apollo 8 has a message we would like to send you. In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
Jim Lovell:
And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.
Frank Borman:
And God said, Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good. And from the crew of Apollo 8, we close with good night, good luck, a Merry Christmas, and God bless all of you - all of you on the good Earth."
Apollo 8 was launched into orbit on December 21, 1968. The following day my family started our 12 hour, 500 mile drive from Fair Play, SC to West Palm Beach, Florida around 6PM. We drove all night. Not long after we started our journey I noticed a new “star” in the sky, thrilled that I had been able to find Apollo 8 as it began its history making journey to the moon. All night I sat up, on the passenger side of the car, leaning against the window, watching history being made.
Two nights later my cousin, Michael and I were ready for the very first broadcast from another world. The annual family Christmas Party was being held at Michael’s house, next door to our grandparents wonderful house (now defunct). We grabbed my new reel to reel tape-recorder (Santa allowed me to have it early) and sat everything up on the floor in front of our grandparents’ television. During the entire broadcast from Apollo 8 I held that microphone up to the speaker of the brand new color TV, catching every word from Apollo 8 and Walter Cronkite.
I still have that old reel tape. It is in one of those big Rubbermaid boxes in the closet in my guestroom. That, and my tape of the landing of Apollo 11 are two of my most precious treasures, even though the technology is obsolete.
Years later, when I was working as a lobbyist with the space program, I was put in charge of acquiring prizes for a fund-raiser. I wrote to Frank Borman asking if he would mind donating an autographed photo for the fund-raiser. He sent me two photos and two Apollo 8 medallions, both minted out of metal that was aboard Apollo 8. His instructions were that I sell one set and keep the other. The Apollo 8 medallion sits in my antique bookshelf that is directly behind me.
Today Frank Borman resides in Las Curces, New Mexico. He and his wife are very good Episcopalians. Several years ago I was scheduled to attend a conference in LC, which would have allowed me to attend a reception at their home. Unfortunately I was unable to do so. Fr. Anna told me it was a good thing I did not go because I would have made a fool of myself when I discovered that Frank Borman had been assigned the task of tending bar during the party!
ATHEIST HARASSMENT
A few weeks after Apollo 8 returned safely to earth, infamous atheist Madalyn Murray O’Hair filed a lawsuit against the crew of Apollo 8, which was dismissed by the Supreme Court. The irony of all of this is born out when on considers the horrific way O’Hair met her fate. She was kidnapped, murdered along with her son and step grand-child, and buried in a shallow grave, all for money. In a fate akin to that of Jezebel, her body was dismembered and abandoned.
BUZZ ALDRIN
“…Aldrin is a Presbyterian, and is known for his statements about God. After landing on the moon, Aldrin radioed earth with these words: "I'd like to take this opportunity to ask every person listening in, whoever and wherever they may be, to pause for a moment and contemplate the events of the past few hours, and to give thanks in his or her own way." He received Communion on the surface of the moon, but kept his Communion a secret because of the lawsuit brought by Madalyn Murray O'Hair regarding the reading of Genesis on Apollo 8. Aldrin, a church elder, used a pastor's home Communion kit given to him by Dean Woodruff and recited words used by his pastor at Webster Presbyterian Church. He celebrated Communion alone, without his colleague Armstrong participating….”
Thanks to Adamweb for reminding me of my most memorable Christmas Eve.
Trackposted to Is It Just Me?, Rosemary's Thoughts, third world county, Blue Star Chronicles, Pirate's Cove, Chuck Adkins, Right Voices, Stageleft, and Adeline and Hazel, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.">
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