Cernan in Tulsa, "We need dreamers."

Capt. Gene Cernan, "Dreamers are doers."

Rick Couri

KRMG.com

Gene Cernan is the last man to put a foot on the moon. That happened in December 1972 nearly 40 years ago when the Apollo 17 mission came to and end. Cernan told us he still has a hard time believing it was that long ago and that we haven't been back. Cernan is in Tulsa today signing autographs at the Tulsa Air and Space Museum where I had a chance to catch up and ask him a few things about the space program. Cernan said he will always be proud of what the space program accomplished “technology, digital products, national pride, diplomatic presence” Cernan listed as some of the things he think were the most valuable.

As you can imagine, Cernan thinks the USA should be back in the space race and he hopes the kids of today lead the charge. “We need dreamers, dreamers are doers” he said as he watched the children visiting TASM Tuesday. “As a kid I wondered to myself if I could do that” Cernan remembered. “Then my Dad told me to go for my dreams, it’s amazing how often our fathers are right” he said with a smile.

I asked Cernan to think back to that moment when he was about to take the last step on the moon, what was going through his mind? “I looked back at the earth hanging there in the black, three dimensional with all the blues and the whites of the clouds and the snow.” I could see the memories in Cernan’s eyes when he said “I didn’t want that moment to end, I wanted to freeze time” he recalled.

Cernan was in Tulsa signing copies of his new book, “Last Man on the Moon.”

Link to Corsi's radio interview with Cernan, HERE.