NASA remembers Walter Cronkite

William Atkins
Saturday, 18 July 2009 18:24

Science - Space

Charles Bolden continues by saying: "From the earliest days of the space program, Walter brought the excitement, the drama and the achievements of space flight directly into our homes. But it was the conquest of the moon in the late 1960s that energized Walter most about exploration. He called it the most important feat of all time and said that the success of Apollo 11 would be remembered 500 years from now as humanity's greatest achievement."

"It was Walter Cronkite's impassioned reporting on America's inaugural moon landing that inspired me to join in the dreams of many to travel to space and accept the risks that this exploration brings while I was a student in naval flight training.”

"In honor of his ethical and enthusiastic coverage of our nations' space program, NASA was proud to honor Walter in 2006 with an Ambassador of Exploration Award and presented him with an Apollo lunar sample.”

"For decades, we had the privilege of learning about our world from the original 'anchorman.' He was a true gentleman. Our thoughts and prayers are with Walter's family and his millions of friends and supporters."

Walter Leland Cronkite, Jr. was born on November 4, 1916, in St. Joseph, Missouri. Over his lifetime, Cronkite received many awards and honors, including the "Freedom of the Press" George Polk Award and the Presidential Medal of Freedom (from President Jimmy Carter).

Cronkite said that one of his proudest moments of his life was the honor to report on the U.S. manned space program, which he did from the Mercury program to the Apollo missions. He received the Ambassador of Exploration Award by NASA in 2006, the only non-astronaut or non-NASA employee to have been given the award.

At the presentation, Cronkite commented on the award, saying it is "... beyond anything I could have ever believed." He added that, "It's hard for us to really understand the immensity so far of the conquest of space." [NASA (2/28/2006): "NASA Honors Veteran Journalist Walter Cronkite"]

Mr. Cronkite also stated, "I think that 500 years from now the young people that are living on space stations and space cities and perhaps on the orbs themselves out there ... they will be recognizing the most important feat of all time. 500 years from now they will be celebrating the first landing on the moon and the first walk on the moon."

He commented on his feelings at the time of the Moon landing: "I had as much time to prepare for that moon landing as NASA did, and I still was speechless when it happened. It just was so awe-inspiring to actually be able to see the thing through the television that was a miracle in itself."

For additional information on the death of Mr. Walter Cronkite, please go to the WISH TV article “Former CBS anchor WalterCronkite dies.”