posted 04-02-2023 11:14 AM               

Space Cover 695: Apollo 11 and the USS Arlington

Apollo 11 was the only Apollo mission for which a US President was on board the Prime Recovery Ship to greet the space travelers. President Nixon tied his appearance there with a visit to the Peoples Republic of China. He flew in Air Force One to Hickam AFB, Hawaii, then from there he flew 635 miles to Johnston Island Atoll where he and his entourage then flew on two helicopters to the USS Arlington. He stayed in the captain's quarters there overnight as the ship sailed toward the USS Hornet. After breakfast he and his entourage flew the balance of the remaining distance to the Hornet in the those helicopters.

The USS Arlington was not a secondary recovery ship. Only a handful of covers were canceled as its mission was classified. Practically no collectors requested covers from this ship. So covers, such as this one shown, are extremely rare.

The bottom cover above was canceled at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, upon the Arlington's return to port. Above the postmark are the blue letters: "Arlington AGMR 2." The cachet on the cover above it indicates the route that President Nixon took to reach the USS Arlington and then the USS Hornet.

posted 04-03-2023 04:32 PM               

The airmail envelope even further below is most interesting. It's signed by the helicopter pilots and crew chief of the Presidential Helo. crew of Lt. Col. E. J. Sample (USMC), pilot, Major Joe Moody (USMC), co-pilot, and crew chief MSgt. E. W. Dangerfield (USMC). While the signatures were signed on the front surface of an airmail Apollo 11 FDI (C76) at top left, I noted on the backside of the airmail cover reads (probably in the hand of pilot Sample):

"The crew listed on opposite side flew President Nixon to the USS Arlington on 23 July then on to USS Hornet on 24 July to observe Apollo 11 splashdown. Finally on 24 July the same crew flew President Nixon back to Johnston Island."

Even though the USS Arlington was not a part of Apollo 11's support fleet as a secondary ship nor anything else Apollo related, Navy Command had changed the assignment of the Arlington on July 23. She had been re-assigned after all to work the first returning manned lunar landing mission in a special capacity.

As the ship's 1969 Command History provided by ea757girl, the Arlington provided communications support for the Nixon party in addition to CINCPAC (embarked in Hornet) and the CTF-130 fleet. The night before splashdown, Navy Pacific Command ordered the ship to a new position within UHF/HF relay of recovery force communications circuits between the Prime Recovery Ship, NASA's Houston space center, and CTF-130 in Hawaii. On Aug 5, the Arlington left Pearl Harbor for another assignment.

posted 04-29-2023 09:38 AM               

He had covers for each flight: Apollo 8, Apollo 10 and Apollo 11. Note that the Apollo 8 set also includes a cover postmarked for the launch. Interestingly enough, only the ones that are airmail envelopes look like covers that dad would have sent for himself.

I would guess that the others were traded for as dad was a big cover trader in the early 70's. He would always send for extra covers and then trade his duplicates to fill in holes in his collection. I would also venture a guess that he sent for the Commanding Officer's signatures himself. He was quite prolific in getting CO's to sign recovery covers.