Front page of the Evening Capital newspaper announces
Apollo 8's insertion into lunar orbit.(newspapers.com screen capture)
On Christmas Eve of 1968, while war was being
waged in Vietnam against the forces of Communism on Earth,
Apollo 8 astronauts Frank F. Borman, II, James A. Lovell,
Jr., and William A. Anders maneuvered their spacecraft into orbit around the moon.
Launched three days earlier on December 21, they became the first manned spacecraft
to leave Earth orbit, orbit the moon, and return safely to Earth. The image below
is the front page of my hometown newspaper, the Evening Capital, published
in Annapolis, Maryland. My father, Arthur Blattenberger, was manager of the classified
advertising department for 25 years before succumbing to a heart attack at age 51.
'Earthrise' photo from Apollo 8 on December 24, 1968 <NASA photo>
Apollo 8's Christmas Eve Message
"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." "
About Airplanes & Rockets
Kirt Blattenberger
Even during the busiest times of my life I have endeavored to maintain some form
of model building activity. This website has been created to help me chronicle my journey
through a lifelong involvement in model aviation, which
all began in Mayo,
Maryland...
Copyright 1996 - 2026
All trademarks, copyrights,
patents, and other rights of ownership to images and text used on the Airplanes
and Rockets website are hereby acknowledged.
