Apollo XII, November 14, 1969
I received word that I was being honored and invited to witness the Apollo XII launch in the VIP stands. My wife was to be included in this invitation.
Two weeks before the launch, I was informed the my wife could not go due to the fact that President Nixon was coming with his entourage. That would restrict the number of seats. What a disappointment for Dotty and I.
I was scheduled to give a talk to an American Society for Quality Control (ASQC) conference
at St. Joseph College the morning of my flight to Cape Canaveral. Arrangements were made to ensure I made my flight.
The night before Dotty and I were invited to the speakers reception and dinner. At the reception I introduced Dotty to the head of Flight Quality at NASA Headquarters, Dr. John Condon. They got to talking about children and camping, among other things. We went into dinner and John escorted Dotty and I to the table and asked Dotty to to sit right next to him. There were several prominent people from G.E.
including a red head who among other things was noted for her knowledge of statistical methods. That was how I got to know her a few years before and I did not think she remembered me, either that or she was ignoring me. The other G.E.people kept trying to get her involved into a conversation with John. He was very interested in talking with Dotty at the time. He said, "Pardon me I’m trying to have a conversation with Mrs. Anderson." Ask Dotty about it. Later, we both met him at a European Organizaton for Quality Control (EOQC) Conference in Dublin, Ireland. He remembered the whole thing and didn’t they both start talking about camping and children. He was then retired and living in Minnesota on a lake.
The next morning I gave my presentation and they whisked me off to the airport.
The night before the launch, they had a party for all the honorees. The major contractors had set bars (8 of them) around the hall and lots of eats and drinks. In attendance were astronauts who had flown and those that were in training. There were many notables. I personally was able to talk to Jimmy Stewart and his wife
Beside being a famous actor, was a pilot in WWII and a Reserve Air Force General. He looked old then but lived for many years after that. Also I had a conversation with Jose Jimeinez, the actor.
I hope I spelled his name right. The evening was great and memorable.
The next morning they bussed us to the VIP stands. Was Isurprised. Two rows behind me was President Nixon.
I seldom wore a hat. That day I did because of a potential long day in the sun. Dotty and the kids were looking for me on the TV. Because of the hat, they failed to recognized me. The lift off was on a rather over cast day and I saw the lightening
hit the Apollo XII. Knowing what it could do concerned me. It was announced that all went well.
Clifford H. Anderson
April, 26,2006
more pics from Apollo 12
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I received word that I was being honored and invited to witness the Apollo XII launch in the VIP stands. My wife was to be included in this invitation.
Two weeks before the launch, I was informed the my wife could not go due to the fact that President Nixon was coming with his entourage. That would restrict the number of seats. What a disappointment for Dotty and I.
I was scheduled to give a talk to an American Society for Quality Control (ASQC) conference
at St. Joseph College the morning of my flight to Cape Canaveral. Arrangements were made to ensure I made my flight.The night before Dotty and I were invited to the speakers reception and dinner. At the reception I introduced Dotty to the head of Flight Quality at NASA Headquarters, Dr. John Condon. They got to talking about children and camping, among other things. We went into dinner and John escorted Dotty and I to the table and asked Dotty to to sit right next to him. There were several prominent people from G.E.
including a red head who among other things was noted for her knowledge of statistical methods. That was how I got to know her a few years before and I did not think she remembered me, either that or she was ignoring me. The other G.E.people kept trying to get her involved into a conversation with John. He was very interested in talking with Dotty at the time. He said, "Pardon me I’m trying to have a conversation with Mrs. Anderson." Ask Dotty about it. Later, we both met him at a European Organizaton for Quality Control (EOQC) Conference in Dublin, Ireland. He remembered the whole thing and didn’t they both start talking about camping and children. He was then retired and living in Minnesota on a lake.The next morning I gave my presentation and they whisked me off to the airport.
The night before the launch, they had a party for all the honorees. The major contractors had set bars (8 of them) around the hall and lots of eats and drinks. In attendance were astronauts who had flown and those that were in training. There were many notables. I personally was able to talk to Jimmy Stewart and his wife
Beside being a famous actor, was a pilot in WWII and a Reserve Air Force General. He looked old then but lived for many years after that. Also I had a conversation with Jose Jimeinez, the actor.
I hope I spelled his name right. The evening was great and memorable.The next morning they bussed us to the VIP stands. Was Isurprised. Two rows behind me was President Nixon.
I seldom wore a hat. That day I did because of a potential long day in the sun. Dotty and the kids were looking for me on the TV. Because of the hat, they failed to recognized me. The lift off was on a rather over cast day and I saw the lightening hit the Apollo XII.Clifford H. Anderson
April, 26,2006
more pics from Apollo 12
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