"Scott's book documents in fine detail the role played by professional sailors of the United States Navy during the final phase of our historic flight---the recovery of the Command Module Columbia after splashdown! They were terrific. Read the story in their own words, just as it happened."Buzz Aldrin, Apollo II Lunar Module pilot<BR><BR>"The last vital step in the journey of Apollo II: getting Columbia aboard Hornet, described with great precision. It brings back many fond memories of a great recovery team."Majgen Michael collins, USAF (Rel.), Apollo II Command Module pilot<BR><BR>"This is a detailed, insightful, and informative account of the return and retrieval of the Apollo II astronauts and their space capsule. The book accurately relates both the facts and the atmosphere aboard the Hornet. I know. I was there, as an NBC News correspondent on the ship."Ron Nessen, formr NBC News correspondent and former White House press secretary, 1974-1977<BR><BR>"Carmichael's new book is a great read as he tells our story the way it happened in fine detail. Under NASA's careful direction, failure was not an option and Scott captures those times perfectly as we made our preparation to recover three brave American heroes coming in from harm's way having risked their lives taking the `giant leap for all mankind.' Those who were honored to be part of their return and are remembered in Scott's wonderful book will never forget that moment, and now, neither will you."CDR Clancy Haileberg, USN (Ret), former OIC of the Navy swimmer recovery teams and decontamination swimmer<BR><BR>The splashdown and recovery of Apollo 11 on 24 July 1969 was a historic event that fulfilled President John F. Kennedy's national goal of placing a man on the moon and returning him safely to earth by the end of the 1960s. This book tells the dramatic story of the USS Hornet's recovery of the astronauts after the splashdown of their command module. This detailed account draws not only on historical records, but also on the memories of eighty men who served on board the Hornet and participated in the recovery operation, including Navy UDT frogman John M. Wolfram, who was the first to reach the Apollo 11 astronauts. Their inside account offers deck-level perspectives of events and includes details never before documented for the public. Their stories reveal that although the recovery operation looked easy and uneventful, there were many problems to overcome. For example, a machinist's mate had to repair a broken propeller shaft while the ship was under way so the Hornet could reach the point of splashdown on time; storms forced the ship to navigate by dead reckoning, placing it miles away from its destination just minutes before Apollo came down; and an HS-4 helicopter narrowly avoided colliding with the command module due to heavy cloud cover. Yet according to the author, the VIPs in the Hornet never suspected that anything was amiss.<BR><BR>In addition to these behind-the-scenes stories, the book includes a never before published photograph of the Apollo 11 command module as it splashed down in the Pacific Ocean. Previously known only to those associated with the Navy SEAL who took the photo, the author established its authenticity through interviews with those on the helicopter and those who processed the photograph on the Hornet. Other photographs not previously released to the public, including surface-level photos taken by UDT swimmers during the recovery procedure, are also among the illustrations displayed in the book.