Joe Harkins Wishes EOA Well
We recieved this wonderful letter of support from Joe Harkins, Jersey City, NJ, USA
“…..your web site became instantly interesting to me for a wonderful co-incidence.
At the moment I am reading Eugene Cernan’s book, “Last Man on the Moon.” I got it directly from his hand, personally autographed, ten years ago, at an annual trade show for the general aviation industry (what must people call “private planes”). At the time, I was writing frequently for the monthly publication, Aviation International News and the daily magazines it publishes at general aviation trade shows. Cernan was there at one in California, sponsored by some aviation supplier to sign and distribute free copies of the book as a way of pulling traffic to their booth.
At the time, I was on constant deadline, even when I got home to New Jersey. So, the book got put aside “for a few days.” But I was moving and the book wound up safely packed in one of those boxes that never gets unpacked – until a few weeks ago.
If you have not read it, it is not at all what I’d expected. I thought it would be a pasteup. But it’s a real book, as informative and genuine as you could want. Not everyone in the Apollo program, including some of his fellow astronauts, was super-super, goody-goody people. He names names and tells stories about who made things more difficult than they had to be.
I am proud, in one of those very small ways to have had any association at all with the space program. Back in the late 50s and early 60s, I was Special Products Manager for what was then one of the finest makers of high alloy tubing and pipe. My territory was national and my customer ranged all across the aviation industry, including companies making stuff for Jupiter. I eventually got to meet Shepard and Grissom and others.
It is so sad that Apollo has not (yet) done all that it could to continue human space exploration. Maybe the kind of public awareness that your program can arouse will help restore that potential.
Best of luck to you and EOA!”
