I just returned from visiting my parents in Seattle. My dad will be 92 this year and is still sharp as a tack. He was one of two Apollo Boeing moon shot launch first line managers at Cape Kennedy. He had the 150 engineers working for him that did the actual launch.

I have been grilling him about what he did for the space program the last few times I've visited him. I don't know why I waited so long but I was a high school kid while the launches were going on. I finally got him to tell me about the Apollo 12 launch. He told the following story:

With President Nixon watching from 3 miles away, the launch went down to 9 seconds to go and the launch sequence was stopped.

There was a problem, the butterfly vent valve for the large liquid O2 tank used to fuel the rockets was stuck open and was required to be closed for launch.

With Nixon waiting, NASA called a meeting to resolve the problem preventing the launch.

What to do? My dad came up with the idea to free the stuck butterfly valve. Since he was a manager, he asked one of his engineers to propose the fix. The fix was to crack open all the valves for the various other gases that could go thru the stuck valve to try to melt the ice likely keeping the valve open(liquid O2 is pretty cold).

The meeting ended, fix was tried and worked, and the launch was delayed by only 10 minutes! He got to shake Nixon's hand after the launch! You might remember this launch as the one shot into a thunder cloud, hit by lightening and still was able to land on the moon.

As a teenager I really didn't get a sense of how smart my dad was. He is one of the unknowns involved in making history. This of course wasn't his only achievements. He authored several patents relating to test instruments for airplanes, was involved with pioneer work on jet aircraft wing flaps, flew as a test engineer on the B29, and was involved in building the Minuteman nuclear tipped rockets that were launched from silos. What a guy for a dad!

Here is a picture of Nixon:
Dr. Thomas Paine, NASA Administrator, shields First Lady, Mrs. Richard M. Nixon, from rain while the President and daughter Tricia, foreground, watch Apollo 12 prelaunch activities at the Kennedy Space Center viewing area. Following the successful liftoff, the President congratulated the launch crew from within the control center.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nasacommons/4940404445/

A man you can be well proud of. - Millet 7-20

Great story!

Good story.

One of my uncles used to work for NASA, He took me to see a shuttle landing in CA in the mid eighties and also saw mission control,etc.

One of the most exciting things that happened in my youth.

Treasure every minute and get him to tell you all he can. You might even want to ask him if you an record your conversations. He is truely one of America's many unsung heros.

Phil, Darkman's suggestion is important. My younger sister interviewed my father for over two weeks before he died. Over the weeks, as she and my father talked, she transcribed it all down. Both my father, and mother, have pass on, and the history my sister obtained is now priceless. - Millet 7-20

Mr. Texas, next time you visit, you may want to bring a video camera and interview him. I did this shortly before my grandfather passed away. He was on a sub chaser during WWII and involved with the Atlas Missle program at Vandenburg. After a 1.5 hour interview, I ran out of tape and we anticipated continuing the interview at a later date. We never finished the interview before he passed away at age 93.

Phillip

Thank you for sharing. I enjoyed your posting from last year's trip, also. We sometimes never realize what treasures we live among because we are too busy doing our own thing. What a tremendous gift you are giving not only yourself, but certainly your father as well. And of course, us.

Barbara