Space Cover 845: Who signed my Apollo 14 cover?This past week marked the 55th anniversary of the Apollo 14 flight. This highly successful lunar landing restored confidence in NASA after the successful failure of the Apollo-13 flight. It also opened the door for the more complicated J Missions of Apollo 15, Apollo 16 and Apollo 17. If Apollo 14 had failed, those last three missions might have been cancelled.
The above cover commemorates the splashdown of the Apollo 14 crew. It has a fantastic Bob Whitney cachet showing various aspects of the recovery operation. But take a look at the signature...
Sometimes when you are collecting autographs you end up with something you weren't necessarily expecting. My collection is chock full of signatures of all kinds. Project Managers. Project Scientists. Lunar Soil Examiners. NASA Officials. US Navy Officials. Recovery Ship Captains. You name it. If my dad saw a name and where they were located he would send them a cover to sign.
This cover was sent to the Commander, Aerospace Rescue & Recovery Service (ARRS). The ARRS aided in the recovery of crews after splashdown and is certainly a great person to sign a splashdown cover. The Commander of ARRS at the time of the Apollo 14 recovery was Brig. Gen. Frank K. Everest Jr. If that name sounds familiar... YES, THAT Frank Everest.
For those not familiar with flight testing at Edwards AFB, Everest, known as "Pete," flew and tested most of the hot aircraft, Century Series fighters and X-Planes during the 40's and 50's. On one flight he became the "Fastest Man Alive" in the Bell X-2.
Eventually his military career led him to this command. I will always wonder if my dad knew that this ARRS Commander was also one of the greatest test pilots to live.
Do your collections have any surprise autographs?
posted 02-15-2026 07:36 AM
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