Tulsa Air And Space Museum Lands Apollo 10 Medal

Rick Wells, News On 6

TULSA, Oklahoma -- The Tulsa Air and Space Museum has another momento from space.

"I hope this will be of interest to people who come in here," Jim Ziegler said.

With that, Jim Ziegler donated a small medal to the Tulsa Air and Space Museum. It's about the size of a quarter, carried aboard Apollo 10.

Apollo 10 headed for the moon in May of 1969. The mission, commanded by Oklahoman Tom Stafford, was a dress rehearsal for the moon landing mission of Apollo 11.

Rick Wells, News On 6: "You made three of these?"
Jim Ziegler: Three of them."
Rick Wells, News On 6: "Were they just alike?"

They were and he asked when they came back to earth if he could have one.

"It's been hanging on the wall in our bedroom," Ziegler said.

Of course there's more to the story. A boyhood friend of Mr Ziegler's knew astronaut Stafford's family in Weatherford, Oklahoma and thought he could get something aboard the mission. But what?

"We need something special, well that might be worth some time," Ziegler said.

Time produced the medal: one side is the earth and the moon with the orbital path and the other side has the first verse of the Bible.

"The symbolism of it all is fantastic," Kim Jones said.

Kim Jones, the curator of the Tulsa Air and Space Museum, said he thought they'd mount it on a small turntable so folks could see both sides.

Probably near the other manned space flight pieces: a model of the Saturn 5 rocket that rode Apollo astronauts into space. There's also a flag which went to the moon aboard Apollo 14.

Jim Ziegler hopes this momento of Apollo 10 will elicit the same response from museum visitors as it has from others who have seen it.

"Hey, here's something that's been around the moon, oh cool," Ziegler said.

The medal should be on display in the museum by the end of the month.