"Let us never forget their sacrifice"

WASHINGTON — There are few signs of the Apollo anniversary in the centre of the capitol.

Tourists gather in their usual watering spots — the White House, the Washington Monument, the reflecting pool and the Lincoln Memorial. Hot dog vendors and protesters, each bearing signs, line the streets.

Obama’s smiling face peers at me everywhere. On the steps of Lincoln’s statue, two black women wore twin T-shirts reading “The Dream is Achieved: 01/20/09″. A souvenir store had a poster-sized replication of his mug.

As the sun set and the streetlights came on among the trees beside the reflecting pool, I wandered down to the Vietnam War Memorial to run my fingers along the names and remember the war that was prominent in American minds during the Apollo program.

I wasn’t the only one. In front of the one of the panels was a printed-out laminated sheet of paper. Several people stopped to read its contents, which were:

“40 years ago — as the first Americans landed on the Moon on 20-July 1969 — 16 American heroes died fighting for the freedom of others in Vietnam. Let us never forget their sacrifice. All of these men died on 20-July-1969 — and are forever together on Panel 20W.

• 25 year old Marine Private First Class Benjamin Brown Jr of Jacksonville, FL
• 46 year old Army Sergeant First Class James Couch of Butler, PA
• 21 year old Army Sergeant Dennis Eitel of Phillips, WI
• 22 year old Army Corporal Ronnie Green of Newland, NC
• 22 year old Army Private First Class Ronald Jett of Champlin, MN
• 20 year old Army Private Alex Martinex of Ranchos de Taos, NM
• 28 year old Navy CM2 Daniel E. McGrath of Parma, OH
• 20 year old Army Corporal Daniel W. McGrath of Levittown, NY
• 25 year old Army Corporal Johnny Parker of Bay Minette, AL
• 20 year old Army SP4 Larry Reatherford of Peoria, IL
• 23 year old Army Corporal David Russell of Jackson, MI
• 19 year old Army Private First Class Robert Sanford of Kent, WA
• 21 year old Army Corporal David Semerano of Niles, OH
• 30 year old Navy Lieutenant Stanley Smiley of Sidney, NE
• 20 year old Marine Private First Class Geoffrey Smith of Cedar Grove, NJ
• 21 year old Army Corporal Lee Tryon Jr. of San Diego, CA.”

Farewell to Cronkite

Walter Cronkite (courtesy of mychatham on Flickr)

As TV came of age in the 1960s, Walter Cronkite was the familiar face that many Americans (and some Canadians) turned on in their living rooms night after night. He died late yesterday at the age of 92, just three days before the Apollo 11 40th anniversary of the landing.

Even though journalists — and Cronkite was a star among them — take pride in objectivity, there were times when he stepped out of that role when he felt the story deserved it. He spoke out against the Vietnam War and fought back emotion during the first moon landing. During the 1980-81 Iran hostage crisis, he ended every newscast with a reminder of how many days the victims were being held captive.

Cronkite accepted a forced retirement before I was born, meaning the only time I got to see him at work was in retrospective documentaries. But it was hard to be a student of the space program and not know the weight of his presence on the air.

Just a year ago, I bought a copy of his biography and was inspired not only by his successes, but the entertaining account of his failures as a young journalist – such as the time he ran a photo of what he thought was the victim of a car crash. It turned out he’d taken the photo from the wrong address and it was the next-door neighbour.

It takes a lot of courage for anyone, even a man of Cronkite’s stature, to admit to the inadvertent whoppers that every journalist makes from time to time. I admired him for that, as well as the legacy of accuracy and integrity he left behind. He will be missed.

Double standard?

L-R: Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin, the Apollo 11 crew.

On July 15:

* The Guardian ran a story that brought up the usual “Neil Armstrong is media shy” angle, reporting he would not attend one of the 40th anniversary events, a press conference that will feature his crewmate Buzz Aldrin.

* Michael Collins, also on the crew, released a statement that he said would be in lieu of interviews and media opportunities. Much of the statement is lifted directly from his book, Carrying the Fire. I read a lot of articles yesterday and today about the Apollo 11 events and have yet to see a complaint about this. (If someone did, please let me know and I will post it.)

The argument could be made that Neil Armstrong is the first man on the moon and thus should feel an obligation to speak, an idea that has been rehashed many times over the past 40 years. I can see that point of view.

Personally, though, I think it’s a nice gesture on his part to appear at the Smithsonian event for the sake of the public interested in seeing him in person. If that’s good enough to satisfy the media coverage of Collins, it should be good enough for Armstrong.