Day Creek resident assisted with Apollo 11 recovery

Those aboard the helicopter pulled Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins from the water and flew them to the Hornet.

"Buzz Aldrin gave me a big thumbs-up," Johnson, now 75, recalled Tuesday at his Day Creek home.

Johnson said he remembers feeling a part of history that day aboard his helicopter.

The road to the moment was "just a matter of luck," he said.

After graduating from the University of Washington, the Silverdale native joined the Navy and was assigned to Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron Four (HS-4).

He became co-pilot of HS-4 Helicopter 66, which would assist with the recovery of Apollo 11 and four other NASA missions.

"I was in the right place at the right time," Johnson said.

In the months leading up to the mission, Johnson said the recovery crew practiced about two dozen times in different weather conditions. They used a metal capsule with three men inside to make their practices realistic.

Johnson said his role was to monitor the altitudes and positions of the four helicopters and two airplanes involved with the recovery to avoid a collision. His helicopter flew as close as 10 feet above the water to fish out the astronauts, he said.

Once on the Hornet, the astronauts went straight into an isolation chamber to contain "moon bugs" and were greeted by President Richard Nixon, Johnson said. 

While on the carrier, Johnson said he was interviewed by a news reporter and his family saw it on TV. A cousin in Italy saw the interview dubbed in Italian. 

"It was my 15 minutes of fame," Johnson said.

Johnson, who spent five years on active duty and served 27 years in the reserves at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, has lived in the Day Creek area with his family for 42 years.

Now 50 years after the moon landing, people ask him to share his experience. 

"I've gotten a couple beers bought for me because of it," Johnson said.

This weekend, he is at the USS Hornet Museum in Alameda, California, to reunite with others involved with the Apollo 11 mission.

Johnson said while interest died down following the Apollo 17 mission, the last in NASA's Apollo program, there is a push now to go back to the moon.

He said he believes the desire to explore a new frontier drives human interest in space. The Apollo program also gave a huge boost to computers and technology, he said. 

"It's whether you feel extending the knowledge is worth it," Johnson said. 

He said opportunities such as STEM education can support that. 

"Anybody can be a part of it," Johnson said. "A lot of it is getting the right education and being in the right place at the right time."