Light This Candle: The Life & Times of Alan Shepard--America's First Spaceman (66 page)

page 292,
There are no reporters inside
: Barbree et al.,
Moonshot,
p. 110.

page 292, “I want her to hear from us”: Ibid.

page 292, “any display of emotion”: Shepard,
Life
(May 19, 1961), p. 26.

page 293, “the power of good and of God”: Ibid.

page 293, “Man, I got to pee”: Barbree et al.,
Moonshot,
p. 107; Shepard, oral history interview with Roy Neal (Johnson Space Center Oral History Project).

page 293, “Zee astronaut shall stay in zee nose cone”: Shepard, oral history interview with Roy Neal.

page 294, “If you don’t use your experience, your past is wasted”:
Wainwright, “Shepard: A Cool Customer and a Hot Pilot with an Eye for the Big
Picture,”
Life
(March 3, 1961), p. 30.

page 295, “He is afraid of the reaction”: “Kennedy Apprehension About Shepard’s Flight Comes to Light,” Associated Press (July 23, 1998).

page 295, “Please hold for the president”: Swenson et al.,
This New Ocean;
Kapp,
To the Moon,
audio book.

page 295, “awed by the romance of the high frontier”: Hugh Sidey, “
Why We Went to the Moon,”
Time
(July 25, 1994).

page 295, “Let’s find somebody—anybody”: Ibid.

page 296,
Don’t screw up, Shepard
: Barbree et al.,
Moonshot,
p. 111.

page 297, “extremely smooth—a subtle, gentle, gradual rise”:
We Seven,
p. 250.

page 297, “You’re on your way, José”: Ibid.

page 298, “Go, Alan. Go, sweetheart”: Barbree et al.,
Moonshot,
p. 115.

page 299, “Okay, buster”: Ibid.

page 301, “obliterated most of the colors”: Robert Godwin, ed.,
Freedom 7:
The NASA Mission Reports
(Ontario: Apogee Books, 2001); author inte
rview with Wally Schirra.

page 301, didn’t feel “on top of things”: Godwin,
Freedom 7.

page 301, as if he were a “sightless organist”: Alan Shepard, untitled r
adio report for Voice of America (May 23, 1961).

page 301, “not one most people would want to try”:
We Seven,
p. 259.

page 302, “the most beautiful sight of the mission”: Barbree et al.,
Moonshot,
p. 124.

page 303, “a beautiful day”: Caidin,
Man into Space
. p. 34.

page 303, [Entire
Freedom 7
scene]:
We Seven;
Swenson et al.,
This New Ocean;
Results of the First U.S. Manned Suborbital Space Flight, NASA Special Publications; Barbree et al.,
Moonshot;
Caidin,
Man Into Space.

page 303, felt “like coming home”: Shepard, Academy of Achievement.

page 304, “the most emotional carrier landing”: Barbree et al.,
Moonshot,
p. 125.

page 304, “Myself, I damn near cried”: Williams,
Go.

page 304, “I simply cannot put into words the excitement”: Wendt, Still,
The Unbroken Chain,
p. 35.

page 305, “I went with him all the way”: Louise Shepard, “The Spac
eman’s Wife: ‘Alan Was in His Right Place,’ ”
Life,
Vol. 50, No. 19 (May 12, 1961).

page 305, “I felt no apprehension at any time”: Godwin,
Freedom 7.

page 305, “excitement and exhilaration”:
We Seven,
p. 263.

page 306, “It’s a success”: Sidey,
Time.

page 306, “If it had been a failure”: Author interview with Tazewell Shepard.

page 307, “a certain thrill that we were in space”: Author interview with Walter Cronkite.

page 308, “Some countries build cathedrals”: Peter Carlson, “Has N
ASA Lost Its Way?,”
Washington Post Magazine
(May 30, 1993), p. 10.

page 308, “The presumption of the American republic is”: Ibid.

page 308, “Shepard bailed out the ego of the American people”: Ibid.

page 308, “That took us all by surprise”: Author interview with John Glenn.

page 309, divert to Nassau for some liberty: Ted Wilbur, “
Once a Fighter Pilot,”
Naval Aviation News
(1970).

page 309, lost three pounds since breakfast: Results of the First U.S. Manned
Suborbital Space
Flight,
NASA Special Publications.

page 309, “You pulled it off real good”: Caidin,
Man into Space,
p. 36.

page 309, “I had to say something for the people”: Author interview with
Wally Schirra.

page 309, “just a baby step”: “Mrs. Shepard Sees Shot on TV,”
The New York
Times
(AP) (May 6, 1961).

page 310, “unusual number of needles”: Shepard,
We Seven,
p. 265.

page 310, “I hope that fewer bodily fluid samples are required”: “
Transcript of Shepard’s News Conference,”
The New York Times
(May 9, 1961).

page 310, “Shepard’s brain get up, leave the room”: Schefter, The Race,
p. 143.

page 310, “This is one of the burdens of a free society”: Shepard, untitled radio report for Voice of America (May 23, 1961).

page 310, “our friend Taz Shepard” and . . . “Jack Kennedy”: Louise Shepard, “The Spaceman’s Wife: ‘Alan Was in His Right Place,’ ”
Life,
Vol. 50, No. 19 (May 12, 1961).

15: “I believe we should go to the moon”

page 312, As they descended toward the White House . . . : Barbree et al.,
Moonshot,
p. 127.

page 313, “man can perform effectively in space”: Alan Shepard, oral history interview with Walter Sohier (for the John F. Kennedy memo
rial Library, 1964).

page 313, “We’re just thinking about it”: Barbree et al.,
Moonshot,
p. 129.

page 313, My God!: Ibid.

page 313, “Come with me”: Shepard, interview with Burke.

page 313, a standing ovation: Shepard, oral history interview with Walter Sohier.

page 314, “Shepard, if you’re going to be famous”: Shepard, interview with Burke.

page 314, “throng-packed, pulsing ro
om of congressional leaders”: Shepard, oral history interview with Walter Sohier.

page 315, “neither a statesman nor a politician”: Shepard, untitled radio report for Voice of America (May 23, 1961).

page 315, “Becoming a public figure overnight”: Shepard, Academy of Achievement.

page 316, “the new ocean” Sidey,
Time.

page 317, “great propaganda value”: Robert Dalek,
An Unfinished Life: John F.
Kennedy, 1917–1963 (Boston: Little Brown & Company, 2003), pp. 392–395.

page 317, “in the eyes of the world . . .”: Ibid.

page 317, “a decision he made coldbloodedly”: William E. Burrows,
This
New Ocean: The Story of the First Space Age
(New York: Random House, 1998), p. 324.

page 317, “by God, we beat them”: Dalek,
An Unfinished Life,
p. 652.

page 317, Kennedy’s “affinity for heroic causes”: Ibid., pp. 392–395.

page 317, Gallup poll: Burrows,
This New Ocean,
p. 336.

page 318, “Is this guy nuts?”: Author interview with Allen Neuharth.

page 319, “Don’t be scared”: Glenn,
A Memoir,
p. 258.

page 320, “What did they say, John?”:
Moonshot,
Turner Home Video;
We
Seven,
p. 401.

page 320, “numb and in a state of disbelief”: Williams,
Go.

page 321, He thought it was faulty circuit: Ibid.

page 321, “What’s going to happen when we cut the retro-pack loose?”: Mickey Kapp (producer),
To the Moon,
6-CD audio book.

page 321, “hold the goddamn thing”: Ibid.

page 322, “We want to be damn sure on this one”: Ibid.

page 323, “Either you give me a decision or . . . : Williams,
Go.

page 323, “. . . leave the retro package on”: Glenn,
A Memoir,
p. 271.

page 323, “cat-and-mouse game”: Ibid., p. 272.

page 323, “We are not sure whether or not . . .”: Williams,
Go.

page 324, “Every nerve fiber was attuned to the heat”: Glenn,
A Memoir,
p. 273.

page 325, “Keep talking, Al”:
We Seven,
p. 427.

page 325, {Entire
Friendship
7
scene]: Glenn,
A Memoir,
pp. 256–274; author interview with John Glenn; Williams,
Go; Results of the First United States
Manned Orbital Space Flight
(NASA Special Publications, 1962); author interview with Henri Landwirth;
Moonshot,
Turner Home Video.

page 326, “It’s always been orders first”: Kapp,
To the Moon,
audio book.

page 326, Carpenter couldn’t help himself:
Moonshot,
Turner Home Video.

page 327, “crucial observations”: Scott Carpenter,
For Spacious Skies: The Un
common Journey of a Mercury Astronaut (New York: Harcourt Inc., 2002), p. 284.

page 328, “I’ll get back to reentry attitude”: Ibid.

page 329, Gordo Cooper . . . pushed back in his chair: Williams,
Go.

page 329, “as though I were watching myself . . .”: Carpenter,
For Spacious
Skies,
p. 285.

page 329, “Scott knew he had screwed up”: Cooper,
Leap of Faith,
p. 35.

pages 326–329, [
Aurora
7
scene]: Carpenter,
For Spacious Skies,
pp. 284–293.

page 330, “He was calm under stressful conditions”: Author interview with Chris Kraft.

page 330, “that was typical of Al”: Williams,
Go.

16: “I’m sick . . . should I just hang it up?”

page 332, “you were reported driving an unregistered car”: Brian O’Leary, The Making of an Ex-Astronaut (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1970), p. 54.

page 332, “99 percent sure”: Ibid, p. 73.

page 332, “His technique was flawless”: Cunningham,
The All-American Boys,
p. 80.

page 333, “You’ve got to be
masculine
”: Author interview with James Lovell.

page 335, “so competitive as to be ruthless”: Cooper,
Leap of Faith,
p. 21.

page 337, “Well, you know I could do a better job”:
Williams,
Go.

page 337, “Okay, if that’s the answer, I’ll do it”: Ibid.

page 337, “This is astronaut Alan Shepard”: Wendt, Still,
The Unbroken
Chain,
p. 16.

page 338, “What if the new fitting leaked?”: Cooper,
Leap of Faith,
p. 37.

page 338, Williams . . . grabbed his throat: Ibid.

page 339, “ass on a plate”: Kraft,
Flight,
pp. 180–183.

page 339, “Is your suit ready?”:
Moonshot,
Turner Home Video.

page 339, “a grin that is typical of him”: Shorty Powers, oral history (
NASA Historical Center).

page 340, “Father, we thank you”: Cooper,
Leap of Faith,
p. 68.

page 343, Blobs of urine: Kraft,
Flight,
pp. 180–183; Cooper,
Leap of Faith.

page 343, “Why don’t you all drop by for cocktails . . .”: Williams,
Go.

page 344, “Just let me sit up there and see how long it will last”: Shep
ard, oral history interview, Roy Neal (Johnson Space Center Oral History Project).

page 344, “tell him my side of the story, too”: Ibid.

page 344, “Maybe two, maybe three days”: Alan Shepard, oral history interview, Walter Sohier.

page 344, “everything that we do ought to really be tied”: Dalek,
An UnfinishedLife,
pp. 392–395.

page 345, “I think we’ll have to go along with Mr. Webb”: Shepard, oral history interview, Walter Sohier.

page 345, Shepard was chosen to command the first Gemini flight: Williams,
Go.

page 347, “oh-so-cool number-one leader shtick”: Carpenter,
For Spacious
Skies,
p. 229.

page 348, The Bushes had a trampoline: Author interview with Peter Vanderhoef.

page 350,
Jesus, what the hell did I drink last
night?
: Barbree et al.,
Moonshot,
p. 168.

page 350,
Is that where the problem
began?
: Author interview with Robert Voas.

page 351, Finally his secret revealed itself: Author interview with Dr. William House.

page 351, “I’m having a problem . . .”: Berry, oral history interview (NASA); Barbree et al.,
Moonshot,
p. 168.

page 352, “You’re medically grounded,
compadre
”: Berry, oral history interview (NASA).

page 352, Shepard took the news silently: Ibid.

page 352, “total disbelief . . .”:
Moonshot,
Turner Home Video.

page 352, “a result of being hyper”: Barbree et al.,
Moonshot,
p. 168; Platt,
Florida Today.

page 352, “Maybe it’s the price I pay”: Allen,
Yankee.

page 353, began complaining of a sore throat: Author e-mail interview with Paul Haney.

page 353, “Too bad it didn’t cause another part of my anatomy to bulge”: Ibid.

page 354, “an ear infection”: Ibid.

page 354, “stonewalled”: Glenn,
A Memoir,
p. 298.

page 354, President Kennedy . . . secretly told NASA officials: Author interview with John Glenn; Glenn,
A Memoir,
p. 298.

page 355, “virtually immobile”: Glenn, A Memoir, p. 304.

page 355, “brought down by a slippery bath mat”: Ibid., p. 305.

page 356, “What do I do now?”: Shepard, oral history interview, Roy Neal.

page 356, “I’ve got a job for you”: Barbree et al.,
Moonshot,
p. 169.

17:
How to succeed in business without really
flying—much

page 357, Norman Mailer . . . Hugh Hefner: Oriana Fallaci,
The Egotists
(Chicago: Henry Regnery Company, 1963), pp. 1–18, 113–124.

page 358, “You need a cow”: Fallaci,
If the Sun Dies,
p. 94.

page 359, “changing diapers and feeding astronauts”: Barbree et al.,
Moonshot,
pp. 169– 170.

page 359, “cold eyes seemed to look right through me”: Eugene Cernan, with Don Davis, Last Man on the Moon (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1999), p. 58.