The Northern Neck-Middle Peninsula chapter of the Virginia Aeronautical Historical Society will hold a special program in honor of Apollo 8 astronaut Bill Anders and his wife, Valerie. The luncheon will be held on Thursday, June 20, at the Pilot House Restaurant, which is located on Route 3 in Topping, adjacent to Hummel Field.
Apollo 8 was the first “moonshot,” the first ever to leave Earth’s gravity and orbit. Bill Anders took the famous “Earthrise” photo while orbiting the moon in December 1968, became a U.S. Air Force Major General, was the U.S. Ambassador to Norway, and was CEO of General Dynamics.
Anders, 90, died tragically on June 7 while flying his vintage Air Force T-34. His plane nose-dived into the waters of the San Juan Islands of Washington state.
He and Valerie have six children and many grandkids and the couple founded the Heritage Flight Museum in Burlington, Washington. The program will begin with a meet and greet at 11:30, followed by lunch at noon and the program at...