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GEMINI 2 NEARLY ENDS IN TRAGEDY
New York (AP) — The Gemini 2 mission faced immediate peril above the Atlantic Ocean east of South Carolina. Astronauts Gus Grissom and John Young were due to splashdown at 3:00 PM local time on Monday, November 27. The US Navy and NASA honoured USS Intrepid and her escorts with the recovery mission after the capsule bearing the two brave American astronauts splashed down.
GEMINI 2 ATTACKED DURING DESCENT
During the descent, Lt. Col. Grissom radioed Cape Canaveral for immediate assistance. Unnamed sources in NASA told this newspaper he said, "We are being fired on" at a height of nearly 220 miles above the Earth's surface.
Captain Young confirmed the attack by a second craft in orbit. Gemini 2 does not have weapons or armament, as it was intended for a peaceful mission.
SUPERHUMAN HEROIC EFFORTS
Captain Smith of the USS Intrepid deserves the highest praise for immediately issuing orders to scramble all available pilots and flight personnel to aid in the recovery mission. Under his command, IRON MAN took to the sky at some of the highest altitudes of unassisted human flight. The Department of Defense requested publication of other names be suspended at this time, but we will recognize the role played by a brave "fire woman" and heroic man who put themselves on the line for strangers.
Undoubtedly, the astronauts' odds of survival were nil at such high speeds and the effects of atmospheric friction and forces on the capsule. The brave rescue by the US Navy and three specially empowered individuals at great personal risk saved the lives of Lt. Col. Grissom and Captain Young.