posted 03-07-2006 04:51 PM               

In a way, I felt I had seen it so many times before, having read the transcript, read Wolfe's account in THE RIGHT STUFF, and seen Philip Kaufmann's take on it in the movie by the same name.

But the historical footage surprised me. I'll throw out a few ideas and would be interested in hearing from others who have also seen the footage of the real thing.

First, Glenn. I was surprised (and surprised that I was surprised) by his riff, which Wolfe described rather famously. Glenn has a kind of vehemence about "God-given gifts" and faith and American values. All that was in THE RIGHT STUFF, so that didn't surprise me.

What surprised me was that Glenn seemed like he had really been chewing this over for some time, angry about all the nihilist-flyers infesting the skies and the briefing rooms around the country. His answer, in other words, didn't really follow. (I think the question was, "What do you believe. Or why are we doing this . . .")

Gus, too, surprised me. You can see that the other six were a little discomfited by Glenn's god and country speech--and also by the vehemence and the emotion with which he spoke. Gus stepped into the breach. The nihilist speaks! Droll, amused, and, er, nihilistic. Yep, we may all die (typing from memory now, so may get that detail wrong). Feeling his way through the moment. I thought he was almost funny. But his nihilism got in the way.

There's more back and forth with the usual banalities. Al, picking his moment well, sums up everyone's views on god and country in an almost urbane fashion. He sounds like the ambassador. Appreciative nods up and down the dais. Yeah, what Al said. Yeah.

I note here, however, with pride, that Carpenter simply brought down the house, at the end. A close reading of the transcript reveals reporters preoccupied with the danger posed by the project and their incomprehension of the Annie Glenns and Jo Schirras of the military flying world.

"What did your wives say?" or variations of that question, were repeatedly posed by incredulous male reporters. The usual banal responses--I've got a lot of support at home--did not satisfy until finally Carpenter took the question, reporting with a kind pleased glee, knowing the punchline. "Well, you know, twice I was at sea when orders from NASA came, and twice Rene volunteered me!"

This elicited guffaws and hoots of appreciation. All seven men, newly minted astronauts, laughed in recognition. And finally the assembled journalists understood just a little what these families were about.

Don't know why Carpenter's voice sounds so high on the audio--like Alvin the Chipmunk. He has nice bass undertones to his voice. He's a guy, after all. But very pleasant reedy overtones, like the oboe. The recording seems to pick up the oboe and not the bass.

posted 03-07-2006 05:32 PM               

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Originally posted by KC Stoever:

Don't know why Carpenter's voice sounds so high on the audio--like Alvin the Chipmunk.

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posted 03-07-2006 06:46 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by carmelo:
Glenn and Carpenter were simply perfects.What greats first men on the moon would have been! P.S. Mrs Stoever,I can ask you if you directly remember something of President John F. Kennedy? Which your impressions of little girl on JFK?

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First guys on the moon. Wow. And Carpenter probably would have snapped Glenn's pic, too!

I do remember our family trip to the White House and have a vivid memory of President Kennedy. As we gathered for the customary group photo (captured on the Mercury DVD set), with short people in the front, I realized with some happiness that a genial president of the United States was standing directly behind me and next to my father, and my mom--the tall people.

I threw my head back, to see if the president were really standing there. He was. And he looked down and smiled at me.

I detected in the smile that the man was kind, fully present, curious, and mindful, somehow, of the sacrifices that families make for the country.

posted 03-08-2006 08:47 AM               

A number of people do incredible things, but "perfect" is not the appropriate adjective for an individual. Each of the Original 7 would have provided a slightly different personality to the accomplishment.

posted 03-08-2006 09:24 AM               

That's right. I'd forgotten Glenn's funny and sly references to the, er, poking, everywhere that the men endured. The other six laughed in real appreciation.

And SCE AUX's general comparison to a introductory presser of unknown and untested star athletes strikes me as extremely apt. That's exactly what they're like. And Marje probably hit Deke when he got home afterward. To the spousal support question, Deke committed the cardinal sin for husbands. He said, something like, uh, well, oh, my wife, she'll just be wondering where the commissary is.

The other six listened and hung their heads for the guy, knowing he was in for it when he got home.

On edit: In support of carmelo's remark, let me note that he was saying nothing negative about Armstrong. He was observing something positive: adept and charismatic teammates would have been useful, on the moon, in communicating what they saw and felt to all of the rest of us who could never go.

posted 03-08-2006 10:00 AM            

The opportunity to see that press conference in (what was available) of it's entirity was one of the things I was anxiously awaiting when Mark started shipping the Mercury set. With the "Right Stuff's" version in my head, I watched the real presser as comparison.
As expected the dramatics of the moderator and the reactions of the pilots* were over-the-top. Hollywood needs to realize that these events don't need over dramatization, they are captivating just as they happened. (I think Hanks kinda gets that!)
Between the unnecessary dramatics and the portrayal of Gus, I really hate that movie!

posted 03-08-2006 10:09 AM            

quote:

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Originally posted by SCE to AUX:
note: the use of the term "pilots" is not out of disrespect. I believe they were not gold-pinned astros until they were 50 miles from earth. DPD would know!

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posted 03-08-2006 10:25 AM               

Call them aviator or pilot in the early days. According to Rene, they hated the term astronaut. But astronauts they were, and eventually consented to be called, even before they flew. The language changed around them, despite their objections, and they had to surrender to usage.

Deke, for example, was clearly a Project Mercury astronaut--that's the way I think of him--even though he never flew a Mercury mission.

posted 03-08-2006 11:17 AM            

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Originally posted by FFrench:
[B] The Navy and Marine members of the Mercury 7 might not like being called "Pilots"

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Were they test "aviators" ?? hmmmm!

posted 03-08-2006 11:28 AM               

Your writing naturally favors the interviews, the personalities, the eyewitnesses who tell you the most and hide the least. So Wolfe's account shows a source bias for Rene, Scott, Pete Conrad, and of course the charismatic Yeager. Shepard cooperated the least, and it shows in the book. In FSS, I have a Solliday source bias. Interesting that Solliday and Conrad both were losers in the great 1959 selection battle. But their defeat seared the experience in their memories, and makes, or made, them so invaluable to researchers everywhere.

And yes all seven did take a group photo in their silver spacesuits. But if carmelo can find a photo, look at the shoes--Deke's wearing brown dress shoes, with really cool socks, I think. And IIRC one of the more wardrobe-conscious guys has taken some silver spray paint to a pair of boots.

posted 03-08-2006 12:01 PM            

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Shepard cooperated the least, and it shows in the book.

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As far as the movie goes, I would like to see someone take a shot at a remake. Better casting and attention to accuracy vs. art direction could possibly make it work. I don't think Scott Glenn's "Shepard" caught the character. The muscle-bound arrogance was again over-the-top.

DPD... I knew Rene was a Rainbow Girl, but a cover girl too??

posted 03-08-2006 12:15 PM               

Those were the minutes, after reentry, that she, everyone, spent waiting for news that Carpenter was alive and safe in his life raft. There are so many unanswered questions about this interval for me. Mercury Control knew where Carpenter was. The computer calculated the coordinates exactly. And the USS John Pierce picked up some signal.

Why didn't NASA ever announce this? I've never been able to wrestle the truth out of this puzzler. [on edit: reading the Results of the Second United States Manned Orbital Spaceflight, p. 32, I see, yes, that at 12:33 p.m. EST, eight minutes before Aurora 7 landed in the Atlantic, Mercury Control had calculated that the landing site would be 19 degrees 24'N latitude and 63 degrees 53' W longitude. Six minutes after splashdown, search aircraft reported "possible" UHF/DF contact. Contact was confirmed at 12:59 p.m., 18 minutes after splashdown. Fluourescent marker dye is sighted 39 minutes after splashdown, and then the astronaut, "appearing comfortable," is reported to Mercury Control soon after that.]

Loudon Wainwright, the LIFE journalist, was struck by Rene's certitude, amid all the Cronkitian hand-wringing, that her husband was fine.

posted 03-08-2006 02:28 PM               

Rene found out her husband was safe by watching CBS News (which covered every minute of the mission live), sitting in the living room of our hideaway LIFE house. No call from Mercury Control or through a Navy backchannel phonecall.

re: Wainwright, did Rene have a sense of confidence that comes from a feeling or was it a well rehersed facade, or niether?

I was there and remember she was tense, waiting for news of the first sighting. But no, her confidence was not a facade. Loudon and Rene were friends. He reported seeing bedrock confidence in his friend, not a false front of brave astronaut wife.

You mentioned Cronkite, again, I was very young then, but looking back at his reactions...He was quick to abandon his anchor desk persona during the space race, he really was a fan of all this, right!

posted 03-08-2006 03:38 PM            

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Cronkite's instincts as a newsman told him immediately that an astronaut ]death watch was GREAT television.

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OUCH! Do you believe that was the motivation of the news agencies in 1963? interesting!

posted 03-08-2006 03:47 PM               

No, probably not. You're thinking of Barbara Bush's ancestor, President Franklin Pierce, probably a Mason.

The John R. Pierce was named after U.S. naval hero John Reeves Pierce, who died during a brutal engagement with Japanese forces during World War II.
http://www.ussjohnrpiercedd753.com/history.htm

The best reporting of the navy's recovery effort, for Carpenter, came from aboard the USS Pierce.

[This message has been edited by KC Stoever (edited March 08, 2006).]

posted 03-08-2006 04:43 PM               

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Originally posted by SCE to AUX:
OUCH! Do you believe that was the motivation of the news agencies in 1963? interesting!

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And by red, white and orange, they meant the colors of blood, smoke and fire...

posted 03-08-2006 07:24 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by KC Stoever:
[i] Rene found out her husband was safe by watching CBS News (which covered every minute of the mission live), sitting in the living room of our hideaway LIFE house. No call from Mercury Control or through a Navy backchannel phonecall.

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posted 03-08-2006 07:32 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by KC Stoever:
And yes all seven did take a group photo in their silver spacesuits. But if carmelo can find a photo, look at the shoes--Deke's wearing brown dress shoes, with really cool socks, I think. And IIRC one of the more wardrobe-conscious guys has taken some silver spray paint to a pair of boots.

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posted 03-08-2006 08:47 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by KC Stoever:
Between the unnecessary dramatics and the portrayal of Gus, I really hate that movie!

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I have problems with THE RIGHT STUFF too--

http://img446.imageshack.us/img446/2123/therightstuff2s0oe.jpg

posted 03-08-2006 10:32 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by KC Stoever:

And yes all seven did take a group photo in their silver spacesuits. But if carmelo can find a photo, look at the shoes--Deke's wearing brown dress shoes, with really cool socks, I think.

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Yo! I think you're remembering the shot in front of the jet. They were wearing various kinds of foot drag, and Deke Slayton was wearing brown shoes in that picture.

And we all remember that famous Frank Zappa tune "Brown Shoes Don't Make It".

Allow me to point out that the passage of time is subjective. I'm sure Mrs. Carpenter felt those 55 minutes passed slowly.

I can sympathize. Those three weeks I was (accidentally) re-married to my second wife were an ETERNITY.

Didn't you step on some poisonous South American jungle creature that day and get savaged by it? I read some place you have a peg leg now.

posted 03-08-2006 10:43 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Robert Pearlman:

Not to get too far off on a tangent and though it wasn't the 1960s, the late CNN space beat reporter John Holliman once recounted to myself and a few others that his network covered NASA launches live primarily because they had the potential to be "red, white and orange." Red, white and orange stories tended to elicit the highest ratings.

And by red, white and orange, they meant the colors of blood, smoke and fire...

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posted 03-09-2006 10:23 AM               

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Originally posted by Duke Of URL:
Yo! I think you're remembering the shot in front of the jet. [This message has been edited by Duke Of URL (edited March 08, 2006).]

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posted 03-09-2006 10:45 AM               

Yo! I think you're remembering the shot in front of the jet. They were wearing various kinds of foot drag, and Deke Slayton was wearing brown shoes in that picture.

Duke. You're right, and I flashed on that other group photo just as I clicked "Submit Reply." Knew someone would set me straight.

Haven't clicked on carmelo's link yet. I have a memory of silver spray-painted boots for the group shot in pressure suits.

Anyone see that detail?? Doesn't Wolfe describe this in THE RIGHT STUFF?

[on edit: yep. spray-painted boots in the pressure suit group photo. Looks like Gus pressed a silver pair into service for the flight suit group photo in front of the jet airplane.]

posted 03-09-2006 12:02 PM               

That third link, on the bottom, is one of my favorite all-time photos of Carpenter. I think it's a Dean Conger photo, who was seconded to NASA from the National Geographic. This was taken aboard the Intrepid, while medics were having Scott jump through his postflight hoops. I have the original framed and ready to go up in my study.

Notice the flipped-up collar, the high-top Keds, and the arms folded serenely across his chest, while balancing upon the bounding sea.

posted 03-09-2006 01:33 PM               

After signing my FSS book Scott talked about the photo ( all 7 in front of the Convair jet )
He was telling us both the different flight suits Navy and Air force had, ( my memory is vague on what he said about Glenns F/S ).
The shoes were mentioned and I believe Glenn had rubber over-shoes over his flight boots.
Gus's were the siver Mercury flight one's.

We both chatted to Scott what seemed ages, ( on other topics as well ) and by him just picking a photo up that was on his table talked about the flight uniforms etc on what Pilots / Aviators wore.

Scott was one great guy to talk to that along with Gordon and Lousma, it was an honour to meet him.
The FSS book is a good read KC thankyou.

posted 03-09-2006 02:11 PM               

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Originally posted by ejectr:
Gee....that's too bad that guy is sitting in Glenn's spacecraft after his flight. I would have hoped Glenn was the last to do that.

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Good eyes, ejectr! I didn't even notice that was Friendship 7 sitting right there in the foreground. Yeah, and who is that guy, anyway? Glenn looks ecstatic, as well he should. I think that's a Conger photo too.

Ian, thanks for the anecdote about Glenn's footwear in that photo carmelo linked above. Perhaps marine aviators need to wear galoshes when they fly. The orange navy flight suit is the coolest. But I'm biased.

posted 03-09-2006 02:50 PM            

I just noticed a "thank you" to you and the DP in the liner notes of Mark's Mercury set. Did you contribute clips, background, etc.?

John

posted 03-09-2006 03:00 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by SCE to AUX:
Kris,

I just noticed a "thank you" to you and the DP in the liner notes of Mark's Mercury set. Did you contribute clips, background, etc.?

John

[This message has been edited by SCE to AUX (edited March 09, 2006).]

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Yeah, I just noticed that too and was really touched. I can remember helping to i.d. the seven in some photos when their faces were obscured by oxygen masks. And I answered what email inquiries I could. It was fun!