Week of April 14, 1970
Emergency - After passing its midway point to the moon - The Apollo 13 moon
launching is canceled and ground controllers are now working to bring the
gravely periled astronauts back to earth using lunar module system. Two of the
men crawled into their moon landing craft and prepared to seal away their power-
crippled command ship which was leaking from a ruptured oxygen tank. Officials
say the three astronauts will depend of the small moon landing craft - remaining
attached to the command ship - as a lifeboat for their return to earth. It will
provide oxygen and electrical for the return.
President Nixon announces he would pull and additional 150,000 uniformed men
out of Vietnam during the coming year.
Robert Beausoleil, an occasional member of Charles Manson’s hippie family is
sentenced to death for the torture slaying of musician Gary Hinman.
House Minority Leader Gerald R. Ford formally opens a
drive to impeach Supreme Court Justice
William O.
Douglas
. In a speech, Ford declared that Douglas “is unfit
and should be removed.” Ford sought to link Douglas with
international gamblers, pornographers and youthful violence.
“Mr. Justice Douglas does not find himself in this company
suddenly or accidentally or unknowingly. He has been
working at it for years, profiting from it for years and flaunting
it in the faces of decent Americans for years.”
Still holding up - The crippled Apollo 13 spacecraft nears earth with the
astronauts preparing for their last great effort - reentry and landing. Space
officials and mission controllers in Houston
express cautious confidence as the hours wore on
that the tired crewmen in the spaceship will bring
off the dramatic race for safety and splashdown
about 500 miles off Samoa.
Coming back to earth - the Apollo 13 astronauts
view their stricken service module and they were
shocked at what they saw. It was evident at the
separation of the service module when they
observed one side missing and debris on an
antenna.
Week of April 14, 1970
The Apollo 13 astronauts are pronounced in good health after their splashdown
in the South pacific ending a griping emergency return from space. President
Nixon celebrated their safe return by lighting up a green cigar and terming the
recovery “”the most exciting, the most meaningful day that I have ever
experienced.” He’ll make a 5,000 journey to Hawaii to present to the three
astronauts the Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian award.
In Hawaii - President Nixon places the
Medal of Freedom on each of the Apollo
13 astronauts. “Greatness comes not
simply in triumph, but in adversity.” “It
has been said that adversity introduces a
man to himself,” said the President.
Speaking for Fred Halse and John
Swigert, Apollo 13 astronaut James A. Lovell told the crowd - “We are glad to be
home and we are glad to be part of America.”
Houston - The Apollo 13 astronauts come home to an emotional welcome of the
space community - which was with them every struggling moment.
Yippie leader Jerry Rubin calls for a “communist revolution” in the United States
to replace the capitalist system, “and we would start taxing the Catholic Church.”
Seen more and more, particularly in the West - free clinics. It’s the place where
they young population can go to get their pressing health problems addressed
and that’s usually venereal disease, drug reactions and pregnancy.
Firestone Tire and Rubber Co. says it has perfected a process to make any tire
any color - even transparent. But there’s one problem - it only lasts 2,500 miles.
Sports -
Phil Esposito scores a three-goal hat trick against Tony Esposito, his younger
brother to lead Boston to a 6-3 victory over Chicago in the opening game of their
best-of-seven Stanley Cup Eastern Division final playoff series.
Pitcher Tom Seaver drives in three runs with a single and a two-run double to
score his first victory of the Season as the Mets defeat the St. Louis 6-4.
Music news - Three British pop singers are picking up $9.6 million
on tours of the Untied States.
Tom Jones
, currently regarded as
the world’s highest paid male singer, is on a four-month U.S. tour.
He’ll make $4.8 million. Engelbert Humperdinck is set for a nine-
month tour and will share $4.8 million with British songstress Lulu.
Week of April 14, 1970
Entertainment news -
Sock-It-To-Me girl Judy Carne makes her Broadway debut in “The Boy Friend” at
the Ambassador Theater.
Thursday night television
(April 16)
CBS, NBC, ABC - Apollo 13 Lunar Walk
PBS - NET Playhouse
Later - Merv Griffin (CBS) - Maureen Stapleton, H. Allen Smith, Yvonne
Constant.
Dick Cavett (ABC) - George Burns, Orson Bean.
At the movies -
The Cycle Savages - Bruce Dern, Chris
Robinson,
Melody Patterson
Gaily, Gaily - Beau Bridges, Brian Keith, George
Kennedy, Hume Cronyn
Start the Revolution Without Me - Gene Wilder,
Donald Sutherland