Fort Worth and the Moon

With tomorrow being the fiftieth anniversary of Neil Armstrong's "giant leap for mankind," space exploration seems to be on many of our minds. This morning I got to thinking about the Apollo 12 mission to the moon and my grandfather's small, unusual role in that mission. 

My grandfather, Marlin Dollar, made Fort Worth Police badges for more than sixty years, and he was asked to make an honorary badge for astronaut Alan Bean to carry with him to the moon. On November 19, 1969, Apollo 12 landed on the lunar surface with a panther badge in tow.

Replica Apollo 12 mission patch in my office