Space Pioneers Gather to Bury Colleague Conrad at Arlington

Pete Conrad, who endeared himself to Americans by stepping onto the moon with a shout of “Whoopee!” 30 years ago, was buried Monday surrounded by many of the pioneering astronauts who ventured into space with him.

Conrad, the third man to walk on the moon, was killed July 8 when he crashed his Harley-Davidson motorcycle along a winding road in Southern California. He was 69.

His burial at Arlington National Cemetery brought together some of the nation’s space giants, including Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon; former Ohio Sen. John Glenn, who last year made a return trip to space; Apollo 12 astronaut Alan Bean; Apollo 7 astronaut Walter Cunningham and Apollo 8 astronaut James Lovell.

Conrad, an Apollo 12 astronaut, stepped onto the moon on Nov. 19, 1969--four months after Armstrong’s historic moonwalk. Today is the 30th anniversary of Apollo 11’s lunar touchdown.

At his burial, a horse-drawn carriage carried Conrad’s coffin from a nearby military chapel as his widow, Nancy, sons and other mourners followed. A group of F-14 Tomcat aircraft flew over the service and a U.S. Navy firing party fired three shots. A Navy band played “Eternal Father” as the coffin was unloaded from the caisson.