[Travel & Exploration] [Apollo 8] Borman, Frank, and James Lovell, and William Anders: Space-Flown Texas Flag and Mission Patch, Signed

Apollo 8 Space-Flown Texas Flag and Mission Patch, Presented to Texas Governor John Connally

Borman, Frank, and James Lovell, and William Anders
Space-Flown Texas Flag and Apollo 8 Mission Patch, signed
No place, ca. 1968-69. Silk Texas flag and Apollo 8 Mission patch, signed on mount by all three members of Apollo 8, Borman, Lovell, and Anders, and presented to Texas Governor John Connally, Jr. Humorously inscribed in another hand, “To Gov. John Connally from Three Fellow Texans". Printed on mount: “Carried on Board Apollo 8 First Lunar Flight 21-27 Dec, 1968”. Flag and patch mounted to original tan board. In frame, 13 1/2 x 16 3/8 in. (343 x 416 mm). From the collection of former Governor of Texas and Secretary of the Treasury, John B. Connally, Jr.

A fine piece of Texas and space history. The Apollo 8 Lunar Mission was the first human spaceflight to reach the Moon, and was flown from December 21-27, 1968. The three-man crew of Borman, Lovell, and Anders orbited the moon for almost 20 hours before returning. During this orbit, their reading of the first ten lines of the Book of Genesis was broadcast on television on Christmas Eve. At the time, it was the most watched television program ever.

John B. Connally, Jr. (1917-1993) began his career in politics as an aide to Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson, before serving a brief tenure as the Secretary of the Navy, in 1961, resigning after a year for his first gubernatorial campaign. He was in Dallas on November 22, 1963, riding in the same convertible as John F. Kennedy on the day of his assassination, and was wounded by one of the bullets that killed the President. He served as the 39th Governor of Texas, from 1963-69, and Secretary of the Treasury under Richard Nixon, from 1971-72, presiding over the removal of the United States dollar from the gold standard.