At the KSC VIP Site there are several low grandstands for
invited Apollo 11 guests. Marv and I mill around on the grassy area in front as
they gradually arrive. We have a brief talk with Australian scientist-
astronaut Phil Chapman. Former President Lyndon Johnson appears with a Secret
Service escort. Former NASA Administrator James Webb sits to LBJ’s right. Not
too far away are Peace Corps Director Sargent Shriver and Gen. William
Westmoreland, U.S. Army Chief of Staff at the time. In a different section, we
notice entertainers Johnny Carson and Ed McMahon. We also see Senators Barry
Goldwater and Bill Proxmire. (Vice
President Agnew is in the Launch
Control Center
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Post #43 July 16, 1969 Events
http://apollo11eyewitness-chudwin.blogspot.com/
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ReplyDeleteI'm a little disappointed, or maybe saddened that there was not picture of LBJ & Sargent Shriver chatting on The V.I.P. Stand. They represented the Launching of The Project, to Place The First Man on The Moon.
ReplyDeleteWith so many VIPs, it was hard to keep track of who was who. Even the Secret Service agents guarding LBJ didn’t recognize familiar faces. They momentarily stopped JFK’s brother-In-Law… “I’m the Ambassador to France, Sargent Shriver. I’d like to pay my respects to the former president,” said the man who was brother-in-law to Johnson’s predecessor, John F. Kennedy.
Johnson was especially touched by the start of the moon mission.
“It seemed as if the half million people who had worked on this program were there lifting the thing,” Johnson said. “I don’t believe there is another single thing our country does, our government does, our people do, that has greater potential for peace.”
Shriver, speaking about the man who set the goal of sending astronauts to the moon before the end of the 1960s, commented, "The only regret I have is that President Kennedy isn’t alive to see his dream come true.”