Jefferson City Post-Tribune (Newspaper) - December 27, 1968, Jefferson City, Missouri Apollo 8 astronauts safely return to earth ABOARD USS YORKTOWN AP Climaxing a magnifi cent space odyssey the Apollo 8 moon explorers came home from the heavens today steer ing their spaceship to a pinpoint landing less than three miles from the main recovery ship in Pacific Ocean Air Force Col Frank Borman Navy Capt James A Lovell Jr 1 and Air Force Mai William A Anders reported they were in excellent condition after the mo mentous journey They landed Just before dawn and waited patiently in their bobbing spaceship for 45 min utes until the first rays of light began to illuminate the Pacific so that swimmers could safely drop into the sea to secure the Apollo 8 craft Americas newest ed mans greatest space adven ture and one of most momentous explorations when they survived mans hottest and fastest dive through the atmos phere and parachuted into a gently rolling sea yards from the Yorktown The astronauts climbed into a life raft and were hoisted aboard a helicopter 80 minutes after landing They were ferried quickly to the carrier which had steamed toward the scene from the moment of touchdown With a beautiful dawn break ing over the Pacific Borman Lovell ed on the carrier deck at pm EST Hundreds of sailors cheered and snapped pictures as the bearded adventurers stepped on deckand strolled a bit uneasily across a red carpet rolled out for the occasion The astronauts were dressed in white flight suits into which they had changed while waiting for recovery They smiled and waved to ac knowledge the cheers of the sai lors Borman stepped to a micro phone and thanked the crew for the great recovery operation Were very happy to be here with you Borman said We appreciate your efforts We know you had to stay out here over Christmas It seems that Jim Lovell and I to fly in December But on Gemini we got home before Christmas We are very proud tobe part of this great achievement Were proud of it and we ap the part you played in getting us back Borman Lovell and Anders all looked in great shape as they left the microphone and walked to an elevator which took them down to a sick bay for a medi cal examination With the astronauts safely on the carrier officials in the Mis sion Control Center in Houston unfurled a large American flag and the Star Ban ner was played over a commu circuit Helicopters spotted the sixton spaceship dangling under its three fed and white parachutes as it dropped for the were overhead moments after the am EST splashdown While waiting for pickup the astronauts chatted by radio with the commander of the ter hovering overhead Cmdr Donald S Jones of Madison Wis asked the astro what the moon was made of Its not made of green cheese at all Borman replied Its made out of American cheese Asked what they wanted for breakfast the astronauts re plied and eggs the same that we had before we left the Cape last week They are the first US astro to land in darkness It was am local time about an hour before dawn and 45 minutes before first light Crew condition okay came the happy report from York town The astronauts had been away from earth exactly six days three hours on a dramatic mis sion that thrilled the world and gave man his first closeup look a t the mysterious celestial neighbor that has intrigued hu mans since the beginning They traveled 69 hours out ward to the moon circled it 10 times in 20 hours at an altitude of 70 miles and then raced home along a corridor They logged about 537000 perfect miles To reach their landing target in the Pacific Borman Navy Capt James A Lovell Jr and Air Force Maj William A An ders survived mans hottest and fastest reentry through the at Apollo 8 slammed into the out er limits of the atmosphere at 24630 miles an hour was pun ished by forces nearly seven times the pull of gravity and was blistered by heat of more than 5000 degrees Fahrenheit The astronauts had been on a perfect course since they fired themselves out of moon orbit early Wednesday and started their hoi no ward journey So was the path that throe planned mid course corrections were can celled Like a speeding bullet Apol los velocity gradually increased until it reached a breathtaking 24630 mph as it slammed into the outer boundary of the earths atmosphere 400000 feet above the Pacific Ocean Thats 7000 miles faster than any pre vious reentry Friction immediately built up and the crafts heat shield was blistered by temperatures of more than 5000 degrees Fahren heit But the temperature in the cabin remained a comfortable 70 degrees Before hitting the atmos phere the astronauts jettisoned a service module attached to the cabin The shedding of this equipment bay reduced Apollo weight from 31600 to about 12000 pounds To reduce the effect of gravity buildup 8 skipped like a stone off the atmosphere at 180000 foot bouncing back out to 210000 feet before making the final plunge During the hottest fastest part of descent radio communi cations were cut off from the spacecraft about three minutes The first word that Apollo 8 had survived the blazing dash came from Lovell who radioed Were in real good shape The crew reported they had powered through a real fire ball during the critical reen try Ships quickly picked up the descending spaceship on radar The atmosphere braked the speed of the fleeting craft mak ing it possible for small para chutes to pop out to stabilize it At 10000 fest the three main chutes blossomed and the astro floated gently downward into the Pacific traveling at a comparative snails pace of 22 mph First word that the astronauts VOL 103 NO 134 were down came from a heli copter that reported seeing flashing lights and added the dramatic words We have voice contact Within minutes after the land ing a helicopter was over the spaceship illuminating the area with a giant floodlight With their early inflight ill gone and the moon orbit segment behind them Borman Lovell and An ders were noticeably more re as they shot into the final 24 hours of the mission They talked of coming home joked with ground controllers and even waxed a little poetic It has been a fantastic voy age Anders reported Televising a picture of his home planet the shimmering he left six days before Anders commented I must have the feeling that the travelers in the old sailing clays used to have I have that feeling of being proud of the trip and still happy to be going back See APOLLO Page 8 FINAL EDITION Escapee faces murder count JEFFERSON MISSOURI FRIDAY AFTERNOON DECEMBER 27 1968 DES MOINES Iowa CAP A fugitive from a Missouri men tal hospital has been charged with murder after leading police tothe frozen body of Pamela Powers missing since Christmas Eve A minister who identified himself as Anthony Erthell Williams 24 a Negro Wordlessly directed detectives to body wedged between a culvert and the side of a 15 foot embankment Thursday Police waited results of an au topsy to determine how the blonde died and how long she had been in the spot near Mitchellville 10 miles east of Des Moines on In 80 Des Moines Police Chief Wen dell Nichols said Williams disclose the place to detective Capt Cleatus Leam ing and Lt Wallace Nelson dur ing the automobile trip from Davenport Iowa where Wil liams had turned himself in Thursday morning After his arraignment on an open murder under heavy guard at theDes Moines police station Thursday Wil only to his lawyer Henry T McKnight of Des Moines Nichols said officers did not press Williams for details of the Christmas Eve abduction or slaying under terms of an agreement with McKnight on Williams surrender Colder Jefferson City and Central Missouri Mostly Cloudy through Saturday Chance for occasional rain or showers to day Turning colder with pos sible freezing rain or drizzle to night and light snow later tonight or Saturday morn ing Continued cold Saturday Falling temperatures this after noon and tonight Lows by morning in the 20s Highs Sat near 30 Chances for pre tonight 70 per cent and Saturday 70 per cent Officers who accompanied Williams and the two detectives to the girls body said Williams showed no signs of emotion He was almost casual and not downcast said one His return to Des Moines po lice four blocks from the building where Pamela disappeared conducted under heavy security after police re ceived anonymous telephone calls threatening Williams life McKnight said Williams called him three times before walking into Davenport police headquarters and announcing Im Anthony Erthell Williams I understand youre looking for me Davenport Detective Lt John Ackerman said Williams asked for a dollar to pay the balance of his cab fare from Rock Island HI on the other side of the Mississippi River where he had been since Wednesday night The search for Williams cen tered in Davenport after a car matching the description and li cense number of the one sped away from the Des Moines YMCA Tuesday was found parked and abandoned Police found a pair of orange stretch pants and white bobby sox stuffed with YMCA towels and a blanket into an Interstate 80 rest area waste receptacle near Iowa Christmas Day father Merlin Pow ers 45 was called from his home in Urbandale a Des Moines suburb to clothing Pamela and her parents had been watching her brother Mark 14 participate in a junior high school wrestling match when she left for the lobby to buy a candy bar She did not re turn Kansas City police records re that Williams had been committed to the mental tion in 1965 after being arrested on two charges of molestation and one charge of raping a 7 yearold girl r Astronauts return Apollo 8 astronauts Frank Borman left James A Lovell Jr center and William A Anders right completed their historic space voyage to All aboard survive day when they splashed down in the Pacific only 5000 yards from the recovery ship USS Yorktown AP Wirephoto Ozark jetliner SIOUXCITY Iowa AP An Ozark Air Lines DC 9 jet with 62 passengers crashed into heavy snow in a grove of trees on takeoff from the Sioux City Airport this morning but no one was killed or seriously in jured The snow is what saved us said a passenger Airman Larry Cornwell 22 Fender Neb It was a soft landing There was no real hard jar Just a nice float ing stop The airplane on flight No 982 from Sioux City to Chicago landed on its belly after its right wing dipped as it took off wit said The planes right wing was sheared off Ambulances rushed at least 32 persons many of them return ing home from Christmas holi day visits to hospitals where spokesmen said most of the in juries consisted of bruises and cuts It made me a firm believer in seat belts said another pas senger Spec 5 Curtis Eng Flan dreau SD who was headed for Ft Campbell Ky As we were leaving the end of the runway and making our sharp climb I heard a popping noise in the right engine said Cornwell who is stationed at Steward Air Force Base near Newburgh NY The plane veered off to the See OZARK Page 8 Crash scene An Ozark Airlines jetliner lies in wooded area just north of Sioux City Iowa airport where it crashed today shortly after takeoff Some of the 66 passengers and crew men aboard were hospit but nil survived the crash AP Wirephoto US troop activity slows in S Vietnam SAIGON AP The US Command said today that American troops are doing less fighting than they have at any time in the past three months But the South Vietnamese gov said its forces killed 146 Viet Cong and North Viet in four clashes Thurs day captured 49 new Viet Cong draftees and uncovered a siz able store of munitions The South Vietnamese said their losses were nine killed and 33 wounded in the four clashes Three were in the Mekong Delta and the fourth was near Da Nang The heaviest of the fights raged for several hours about 20 Sen Long resigns miles southwest of Da Nang There South Vietnamese Rang ers reported 74 North Viet and seven rangers killed and 30 rangers wounded A government spokesman said the Viet Cong conscripts were captured 23 miles north of Saigon and apparently put up little resistance There was some exchange ol fire but I think because they were draftees they just surren dered he said Three South Vietnamese soldiers were wounded The spokesman said the gov soldiers took the ene my by surprise while searching the area just after daybreak Thursday while the ceasefire proclaimed by the Viet Cong for Christmas was still in effect They were still having their truce period and maybe because of that it was such a big haul he said The Viet Cong ceasefire ex tended until 1 am today but the US and South Vietnamese commands ended their Christ mas at 6 pm Wednesday The US Command reported only light contact in scattered actions for US forces One US officer said it was too early to deter See VIETNAM Page 8 Eagleton joins senate Lt Gov Thomas F Eagleton today became Missouris junior senator Eagleton signed an affidavit placing him on the federal pay roll and making him a senator shortly after Sen Edward V Long announced his official resignation at am Eagleton also resigned as lieu tenant governor effective at 11 a m today Gov Warren E Hearnes al ready has signed papers ap pointing Eagleton as new sena tor the Governors office said Eagleton thanked Hearnes for assigning me to various func tions to perform as lieutenant governor thus elevating the position above its customarily ceremonial status Hearnes is in the Jackson ville Fla area today to attend the Gator Bowl football game Saturday between the Univer sity of Missouri and the Univer sity of Alabama State Sen John Joynt of St Louis is the acting governor to day Joynt is President Pro Tern of the Senate At first the Governors legal assistant Paul Williams indi V Long the appointment of Eagle ton would have to be made by Joynt But then he said later papers already have been signed by Hearnes Presumably it would be legal for Hearnes to sign the papers in advance while he was still in Thomas F Eagleton the state Officially he is not the governor while he is in Florida Williams said it is his opinion that Eagleton should be appoint ed as soon as possible Other senator may have the same idea Every minute counts he added See Page 8 Accused labor leaders death ruled suicide by coroner The death of Melvin S Bran son Route 4 local labor leader has been ruled a suicide by Cole Coroner Cletus Kolb Branson was found shot in the head Thursday night at 209 Flora Drive the office of the International Hod Carriers Lab Union Local No 662 of which he was business manag er Police were notified at about pm Thursday to investi gate a reported shooting at the office According to the police report when the investigating officer arrived at the union hall he found Branson seated in a chair facing the board room of the union lull v The officer reported that Branson had a 32 caliber revolver in his right hand Branson was taken to the Charles E Still Hospital where he died at pm Kolb said three notes were found One was addressed to the union board one to his family and one to Leroy 427 W Elm St Branson had called Lampe and asked him to come to the union hall to discuss some busi ness Lampe said that upon arrival at the hall he hoard a noise that sounded like a shot When ht entered ht saw Branson seated in the chair with the gun in his hand A US grand jury had recent ly returned an indictment against Branson charging him with unlawful attempts to em bezzle steal and convert to his own use various sums during the years 1964 1965 1966 and the first half of 1967 The sums total more than 515000 In the indictment Branson was identified as secretary treasurer of Laborers Interna tional Union of North America Local No 662 of Jefferson City Funeral services will be at 2 pm Sunday at the Tanner Chapel Burial will be in Haw thron Memorial Gardens
