European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - May 4, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Into captor Ham capsule after Landing in Atlantic. President Kennedy pins Nasa medal Onatta tonal after Shepard Bleeme the first american in space. The deck lined with sailors. They were All waving and. Cheering. I go All choked up Over that. I guess i was because i was a Navy Guy and had spent so much Tima on a Carrier. That was really an emotional Point. Boy what a ride i told the Captain when i was on. Deck. I was Down to grand Bahama Island Lor two Days of technical and medical debriefings. The doctors said i d Como through beautifully. My Only complaint was that they stuck too Many Needles in me. President Kennedy invited me of the while House to receive a medal. In Washington i was joined by my family and the other astronauts. Alter the ceremony in he Rose Garden the president invited tha astronauts into tha Oval office to talk about the Tulare of the space program. Kennedy and vice president Lyndon Johnson had great political instincts. They knew the country needed a lift and they saw space flight As a rallying Point. We a Alfred at great length about it. The president said he knew i had a Parade up Pennsylvania Avenue but first he wanted me logo with him to a meeting of the National association of broadcasters. He just grabbed me. And we got in his car and drove to the meeting. I want you to say a few words to these Guys Kennedy said. I forget what i said it was something like it was Nice to be Back. Everybody jumped to their feet and cheered. I could t believe the response there or in the Parade that followed. 1 ii never forget Riding to the Capitol in an open convertible with Johnson and Louise Johnson kept saying look at All these people. Shepard you and Louise gel up on top of this  so we sat up on the Back when we got to the Capitol Johnson said Well Shepard. Now that you re a Lamous Man let me give you some advice. Never pass up an Opportunity for a free  a Chance logo of the men s room it was Johnson e few Days later who recommended that Kennedy set a goal of Landing men on the Moon before the decade was out. The president announced his decision May 25. I also set a personal Moon goal. I was determined to ride on one  a Otto missions. But other work cams first. I was named to a Mercury Orbital Ili Ghl scheduled Lor 1963. But that Mission was cancelled so Nasa could Shilt quickly to the Ivo Man gemini spacecraft. Tom Slaford and i were to Fly the first gemini Mission. Bui before f could Fly i was grounded by labyrinth Iii a form of men Ere s syndrome. The virus infection clogged my left inner ear Wilh fluid impairing my hearing and my sense of balance. I began a series of medical consultations that were to continue fat six frustrating years difficult disappointing years. I took a de a Job at the Johnson space Center in Houston. I was sort of an astronaut Den Mother helping select Crews Lor the gemini and Early Apollo flights. Because f could t Fly it Felt like just about the lowest Job in the office. By 1968. The hearing in my left ear was almost gone then i Learned of a los Angeles doctor Bill House who had developed an operation for men Ere s syndrome in which a tube smaller than a Pencil Lead was inserted Between the inner ear and the spinal column to Drain excess fluid. I had the operation and my hearing and balance gradually improved until in april 1969,1 was cleared for space flight again. What a Happy Day. Alter months of training i was named to command Apollo 14.1 realized my dream feb. 3,1971, when de Mitchell and i landed Antares our lunar module in the Moon s Fra Maura Highlands. We spent a total of nine hours walking its Dusty surface and collecting 94 pounds of Moon rocks. Before leaving i set a record of sorts when i used a makeshift club to hit the first Golf balls on the Moon. They really went in that one sixth Gravity Field. I m often asked How the Moon i tight compared with my Brief Mercury Mission. Ii you talk about it purely in terms of excitement the first flight had to be More exciting. There had been Only one Man before thai. Bui we had no data on Gagarin and did t know what his reactions had been there was that lingering doubt whether a Man sent into space. Could react properly. However from a sense of accomplishment and what it meant to me to come Back alter Eill those years the second Ono was Lar More satisfying. Space flight hat come a Long Way in 2s years. There have been tremendous advances in equipment. Technology ant techniques. More than 300 people have flown in space in american arid soviet spacecraft. Twelve americans have walked on the Moon. The russians have a space station up there. I could not have predicted in 1961 thai Jusi 20 years later we would have a Era la like the space shut lie that would be Landing on regular runways and making repeated trips into space. Ten of my Mercury capsules would lit in the shuttle cargo Bay. The american program received a severe setback when the challenger exploded in january. Ii was a terrible thing. It s going to be a Long Tough process for Nasa to recover. Even it the engineers find an obvious fault rather quickly everyone will have logo through All systems All Over again to make certain everything is right before flying again that of course is what we did alter the Apollo launch pad fire. As a result we wound up Wilh a much better spacecraft. Nasa s people Are very resourceful. And they la pull themselves together and they la come Back again better than Ever what do i foresee in the next 25 years shuttle flights will resume and by Early in the next decade the Fleet will be used to assemble a permanent space station. In orbit. It will tie used by researchers from Many countries t think Ordinary citizens will be Able to buy a ticket and take a space cruise spending a week or so floating around the space station. Beyond that i believe Manwill establish a scientific outpost on the Moon and eventually go to Mars perhaps As a joint venture of the soviet Union the United Stales and perhaps other nations. Eventually human colonies May be built on the Moon or Mars or in deep space. Exciting times lie ahead As we move farther and farther into this new Frontier. It a Long leap irom my pop gun Ili Ghl the staffs and stripes Page 15