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Typed memorandum signed by Paul Haney and Alan Shepard, one page, 8 x 10.5, United States Government Memorandum letterhead, July 15, 1968. Historic back-and-forth memo between NASA public affairs officer Paul Haney and Alan Shepard concerning press freedom and the rights of the astronauts to their privacy. Haney expresses his desire to leave transcripts of flights unedited to avoid the influence of outside commercial interests and to preserve accuracy for future generations: "I am a firm believer in telling it like it is…I contend that the slightest editing, censoring, massaging or whatever of the released transcript will not help generations yet unborn to understand what went on when Gus Grissom and John Young orbited the Earth three times on March 23, 1965. Our literature today is certainly spicey enough to accept an occasional god-damn or worse. The public at large doesn't think of our space pilots as a bunch of altar boys."
Shepard vehemently disagrees, writing his objections in the margins (e.g. "Would you care to publicly review some of your own personal thoughts & problems?"), and adding at the conclusion: "Paul—Sorry, cannot oblige without other direction—still don't agree with your concept. Al Shepard." They appealed to Robert R. Gilruth, director of the Manned Spacecraft Center; Haney annotates his ruling in the upper right corner. In fine condition. A fascinating look at the behind-the-scenes tug of war between the astronaut office and the public affairs office, referenced in the book Marketing the Moon: The Selling of the Apollo Lunar Program.
The Richard Jurek Collection.
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