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iT hmvK9 ft AJ'iywit i to' WiiaVni II 1 1 TODATf tnfey, April 11, UTf 'Spy Oft Boy; WaliCronkites Awe Never Dmsl By MARY AtiN HILL tOOAY Waff Wrltir For many Americans, a manned spaceshot to the moon be Hie same witfiouT Walter CronUte. Cronkite'i detailed and. careful running' commentary has kept millions Informed on the manned space program since Alan Shepard's suborbital flight. His simple "Boy, oh boy, oh expressed fully the awe, and pride of the country when NeU Armstrong stepped from The Eem onto the" surface pf themoon. Walter Cronkite, who walked casually into the CBS Press Headquarters at the.

KSC press site and who, in the shuffle of newsmen ptjescnt, went momentarily uiWlecd by TODAY until one of his colleagues called vIt was Friday, the day before the shot, when TODAY got a chance to talk to the celebrated newscaster. The announcement had just been made that Ken Mattingly woukrtoave to bo grounded and that Jack Swigert would take his place in Apollo 13, and Wa'lter Cronkitewas a very busy man. vHe was at( the press site to do the space news portion of his 6:30 p.m. daily newscast, and ushered us up to the second floor of the equipment filled CBS building where he took his familiar seat at the HHIHlElLai 'Li" tim fsiH TODAY Staff Photos by Bob McDonald CRONKITE AT HEADQUARTERS WITH INTERVIEWER he's surrounded by aides, phones, clocks deadlines Like Reunion Time at Jetties By DAVE WOOLVERTON. and ROSEMARY WOLF TODAY Staff Wrltwl Jetty Park at Cape Canaveral looked like an old fashioned American family reunion with plenty of Canadian 1 represented.

Titusvllle wasn't so well oriented. Tourists included. 3iiffffffHHpfjfjf 'wtiiiffffffiffKifffffffEMftr'i some from Switzerland to hometowners who have had ringside seats for all the shots. Veterans of the Apollo 12 launch agreed that Apollo 13 drew more viewers an estimated 4,000 to the park. At least a half dozen trailer families of Canadians were on hand, plus one Montreal resident who had a Volkswagen sedan outfitted with ell his TODAY Staff Phots By Day Woolnrton MARYLAND STUDENTS MO VED IN FOR APOLLO 13 high school group on way home from Everglades HE'S EXPERT AT15 'Space Nut' Among His Pals i By CHARLES RE1D South A.llitont Motre Editor Most 15 year old boys collect pictures of their favorite football players or girls.

Not John Bird. 'He collects pictures astronauts and rockets and moon landing sites. Football is OK on a Sunday afternoon. Maybe. And girls well, John's floppy hair and braces and horn rimmed' glasses and small stature don't quite qualify him for that role.

Yet. But space is a field where the tiny Canadian youth with orersized track shoes ey're really grooves. "The Edmonton, Alberta 'space who has built a QOpy of the Apollo capsule, doesn't' mind the difference. fcther kids in the class Idod of look up to me. They come to me for information," he said from the press site before Astronauts Jim Lovetl, Fred Halse and Jack Swigert rocketed toward the mMM I t.irsr ui ttus uni uve uui was fiTto' nctoe' was really he fPTjtr'r1 It to be big boom fed sot like shock wave.

I fegd feel my coat ylbrate." who is believed by officials at the prtca slte.to know more about the space program' than any jjwngster hi age, has written JOHN BIRD astro author I a book about space which is in the hands of a major New York City publisher. "It was written to explain the Apollo program and everything' about the moon to explain it tq people of junior high said. The book took; six months to write but many more months' to compile. The Canadian youth, who became accredited 'through a Canadian newspaper and the help of NASA, wrote 500 letters to NASA and space contractors, to gather his "I haven't got a title for it yet," he said. "I'm trying to think of something The scientist, who plans to study astro physics, spent' a week in Brevard, i going to press conferences, gathering more material, talking to engineers and Just having the greatest time a 15 year old could have.

foung Johrt i himselfongof th'fi luckiest kids inhe world. He walked into' Kennedy Hilton eight ago without reservations hoping to get a room. "They told me they'd been booked 'up for three months," he said. But a few minutes later John met the first of about five hones Uo goodness astronauts to befriend him. It was Jim McDivitt, he thinks, who told him to go back and see the room clerk.

Like mdgic astrona.ut magic, know the right person magic, John had one of the Hilton's scarce rooms and "a real' pal." The magic turned to ecstasy when he clasped the hands of Alan Shepard, Walt Cun yningham, Tom Stafford and Wally Sohlrra. The only little touch that would have made his 3,500 mile journey better would have been chat with his favorite 'astronaut. But that isn't possible. Gus Grissom is dead. Grissom and.

A a John Young first stimulated John's interest in 1 i Gemini 3 flight, five years, one month and 19 days earlier. "There are far more viewers here now than there were last year," observed" camper Lou Warren Detroit. The Apollo 12 crowd was probably smaller because the takeoff day was Friday instead of Saturday, said Camper Howard a 1 Morristown, N.J. Mrs. Leola Vincent, Detroit, and others who arrived early agreed the Titan 3 shot before dawn Wednesday was a "beautiful" extra added attraction.

Dollard Bertrand, Montreal, stopped off lor tho shot during a Mexico trip. He has been living, eating and sleeping in a Volkswagen sedan and pupr tent he occasionally sets up, he said. Harry and Nancy Bain bridge, from Vancouver, British Columbia, arrived Wednesday and met a few friends they had seen during Apollo 12. "We're all neighbors here," they said. Every conceivable kind of camping gear was on hand, including tents, trailers, minibus and coach travel vehicles and homemade equipment.

Al Fass, Downey, Calif said the shot" "was about the greatest things TeveFfwV lie had worked for North American Rockwell for 25 years, including Saturn 2 work, but retired and bought a trailer before he could see his first launch. Joseph Stemmcr of Zurich, Switzerland, came to Tituswlle on a TWA tour with somewhat of an advantage over most laundh viewers. He is the "Swiss expert of the U.S. space program, and a close friend and former coworker of Wcrnher Von Braun, deputy associate administrator for NASA. Mr.

and Mrs. Charleys. Schuyler of Miami bought their children, 8, and 10,, for tine moon launch. "This is my boy's future," Mrs. Schuyler explained, "He hasn't missed a launch on television or in person." Ben said wouldn't be, afraid to go to the! moon, "because I got, guts." Then' there 'were the honey mooners from Florence, Mr.

and Mrs. Joe MacDonald, who traveled by motorcycle. Both were disappointed. "We expected more noise," MacDonald said. long, now cluttered news disk overlooking the launch pad.

Cronkite was'o i I pleased with the decision to go with the launch schedule, despite the earlier conpern that hovered over space officials when it was stiH open to slight question whether Swigert would haye enough time to work with and familiarize himself with the teamwork of Jim Lovell and Fred Haise. We asked Cronkite if he thought the realization that the back up crew was not completely and totally "ready to go at a moment's notice" would make a dent in public confidence. "Not in the least," he said. "I don't think the general public is so acutely aware of the many subtleties of the back up system that they would give it any thought. It's hard to explain ALL the subtleties to the public.

it's a'little bit of a degradation' of confidence, but these things are a matter of degree, and in this case it is not that impmortant." Cronkite went on to explain the many top.qualifications of Swigert and pointed out that he had more time in the simulator than anybody. "But," he concluded, "if it were someonp else (besides Swigert), we might not feel so confident." Although many viewed with irony the fact that a thing like German measles could cause such consternation in the space program, Cronkite looked at it with humor. "Measles," he chuckled. "You Jcnow, to me it's comforting to kpow'it was measles a real human factor and not some machine. It proves that in this whole project, machines are not the heart of it.

Man is the link, and a pretty important one." In addition1 to his extensive knowledge of the space program and all its aspects, the one thing about the man that stands out in e.l i i viewers' eyes is his complete and genuine enthusiasm. He says readily that enthusiastic is just how ho feels about it, but he admits that this emotion has waned in the general public. "A waning period is only natural," he said. "The excitement level has its ups and downs, its peaks and valleys, and that's perfectly understandable." He feels more or less the same way about money allocated for the space program budget. "Admittedly, a slow down is not good for the space program.

But a visible slow down was almost inevitable after Apollo 11. It wag the. only thing possible, in the political sense. But it's not that critical in the overall picture, although I'm sure it seems that way to. the thousands of people here in Brevard.

After all, space is the great new frontier, and budgetary considerations can't change that," he smiled. In his long career as a "space newsman," Cronkite can recall many exciting, and "frightening, foments, times that stand out jn his mind either for their crisis or milestone significance. "Of I Apollo 13 light to the Hills sHHHW19iHI TODAV Stoff Photo, by Bob McDonald LN A PENSIVE MOOD BEFORE SHOT a time to look into the future hi. ii i i it MACHINES ARE NOT THE JLEART' measles a real human factor course, In the beginning there was the liftoff on Shepard's flight. That was encttlng," and he leaned back in his chair and propped one foot up on his dgsk.

"Then there was John Glenn and the heafshield problem, and later the 47 minutes when there was a communications black out with Scott Carpenter. We didn't know he was safe, and let the whole world think there was something wrong. "Another thing that gave us a scare was the early engine shutdown on Gemini. 6. was a big fright for those of us who were closely familiar with what actually was happening The tumbling of Gemini 8 gave us a turn, tout we all felt that was going to work itself out.

And of course, the launch of Apollo 8 was a big moment, and the landing on the moon Of all the events, naturally, Cronkite ranks the Apollo flight of greatest importance. "There's no question that Apollo It is the greatest news event of our century. In fact, I would place it in importance with the discovery, of America. That's the nearest thing to it. "As an historical event," he clarified, "The splitting of the atom is of equal importance with Apollo 11.

And I think the next big one will be unlocking the secret of DNA, our genes. Then we will be able to alter man to suit our tastes. We're right on the threshold of that I would say it will happen during this century." Although Cronkite is seen by most of the public only in his role as news announcer and commentator, what they are seeing and hearing is the result of many hours of work and preparation on his part. He is not merely the "mouthpiece" for news complied for him by teams of reporters and editors. "No," he smiled, "I really work at it 10 hours a day.

The New York cab drivers ask me, 'Mr. Cronkite, what are you doing going to work this and my wife asks me the same thing," he laughed. "It's my job, and one I thoroughly enjoy." Ecn the gruelling hours covering the moonshots don't faze him. "I like length of time shpws, such as election nights and space shots. I get a chance to ad lib then.

The people 1 feci sorry (or on those stints are the crew members that are not completely involved, those not having to do something every minute. They do one thing, and then have to wait around for hours before they're needed again. That must be hell. I used to have to do that as a reporter covering elections and such. But now on the long shows.

I'm busy every second. When I'm not actually on the air, I'm getting ready for my next segment It keeps me keyed up and keeps the juices flowing. So it's not really as strenuous for me as people would think. But I don't like funerals," he paused a little sadly. "I'm getting tired of them." Since Cronkite is so closely involved with the probing of space, we asked him if, in his opinion, he thought there could be life.in, other galaxies.

"I'm certaih that in our own galaxy we're alone," he said. "You know, that's a pretty frightening thought. But as for beyond take view of Dr. Harold Urey (Nobel prize winning astronomer). He says there are as many stars in the universe as grains of sand on all the beaches of Earth, which is to say, infinite.

But of all those grains of sand, he believes that somewhere, there must be two exactly alike. 4ake 4hatbelief that somewhere in the universe there is another planet just like ours like the two grains of sand." iiHM'lrvfHBsiiiiisriHisiiiiiiHvwViv iSlB 'LIKE TWO GRAINS OF SAND' another planet just like ours FEET UP, REST WAY TO RELAX newscaster takes a fast break Sports Upstages Show From Spa SPACE CENTER, Houston (AP) The Apollo 13. astronauts beamed their first tele vision program earthward Saturday, but were upstaked by a golf tournament, an outo' face end. a baseball game. Astronauts Jim "Lovell; Fred' TIafse andfack Swigert used their color camera, to show the earth and spacecraft interior and the stately docking maneuver with the lunar lander.

But the three television networks didn't interrupt their sports programs to televise the space action. Network 'officials said the telecast was taped and would be shown on Uter newscasts. In most respects, the new trio of spacebound television producers put together a rerun. The tricky docklpg 4 jfce maneuver, wnere fine com mand ship latches onto the lunar lander nestled In a rock stage trailing behind, is old stuff. Earthbound viewers first watched Apollo 9 in March 1969.

And "those breathtaking color views of the blue, brown and white earth are old hat now. Apollo 8 got the first oohs and aahs in December 1968. "We've got a groovy picture," capsule communicator Joe Kerwin, a 1 an astronaut, said froiri. mission control, when the first' color picture came in. The view was of the, lunar lander snuggled In the end of the S4B third stage of the Saturn 5 booster rocket The camera 'jerked and an astronaut reported: 'QK'we got it." pm.