Apollo 16 - April 21, 1972

Navy/Marine history: April 21, 1972

Navy Capt. John W. Young, commander of Apollo 16, is the ninth man to walk on the moon. Navy Lt. Cmdr. Thomas K. Mattingly II is the command module pilot for the 11-day, 1-hour and 51-minute mission where 213 pounds of lunar material is collected.

Gulf Coast Note:  In May 1953, Young received orders to flight school at Naval Air Station Pensacola. Young first flew the SNJ-5 Texan in flight school and was then selected for helicopter training. He flew the HTL-5 and HUP-2 helicopters and completed helicopter training in January 1954. Young returned to flying the SNJ-5, and advanced to fly the T-28 Trojan, F6F Hellcat, and the F9F Panther. He graduated from flight school and received his aviator wings in December 1954.