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[i]When we think of the achievements of our astronauts, we also are aware of what we have often been told by those who have been on flights before. And I recall that over and over again, the same theme runs through what they say. The theme is that it wouldn't have been possible except for all of those who worked on the ground. Four hundred thousand, perhaps over 400,000, men and women made possible the success of the space flights. So, tonight, we not only want to honor the men who made this great achievement, but we also want to honor those who helped them make it possible. And we are honoring them through a citation, a Group Achievement Award, which will now be read, a citation by Dr. Paine. [Dr. Paine read the following citation:] THE NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION PRESENTS THE GROUP ACHIEVEMENT AWARD TO APOLLO 11 MISSION OPERATIONS TEAM For exceptional service in planning and exemplary execution of mission operational responsibilities for Apollo 11--the first manned lunar landing mission. The distinguished performance of this team was decisive in the success of this first extraterrestrial exploration mission, a major milestone in the advancement of mankind. Signed and sealed at Washington, D.C. this eleventh day of August Nineteen Hundred and Sixty-Nine T. O. PAINE Administrator, NASA [The President then resumed speaking.] Anyone who has visited Houston or who has had an opportunity to visit some of the other installations of our space program is enormously impressed by the men and women who work in it. We are impressed by their intelligence, by their dedication, and when I was in Houston I was greatly impressed by their youth. The man that has been selected tonight to receive this Group Achievement Award for the whole 400,000, who. in one way or another, have contributed to the success of this program, is a young man, 26 years of age. But Steve Bales, who was the Flight Control Engineer on this project, made a critical decision just before Eagle 1 landed on the Sea of Tranquility that could have made the difference between success or failure. And if he would step forward to receive this Group Achievement Award, representing all of those on the ground who made the venture to the moon possible. This is the young man, when the computers seemed to be confused and when he could have said "Stop," or when he could have said "Wait," said, "Go."[/i]
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