Bradenton, FL -- A Bradenton woman who claims she made the American flag Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin planted on the moon in 1969 says she believes the flag is still there.
"When I look up at the moon... I picture myself sewing that flag," 84-year old Dolores Black said.
Black claims she made the flag used during Apollo 11 while working for the Eder Flag Company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She says the owner of the company approached her about sewing the flag for the historic mission.
"He came up to me and I can still feel his finger and I looked at him and he said; 'Dolores, would you do the honor' I get goose bumps,' of swing the flag that they are going to take to the moon?'" recalled Black as she fought back tears.
But whether the flag is still on the moon is up for debate.
Annie Platoff, a University of California Santa Barbara librarian has researched the topic. Her conclusion, the flags from Apollo 11 and 12 likely did not survive the ignition gases of the lunar liftoff.
It's a theory supported by former NASA engineer Tom Moser.
"It wasn't the intention for the flag material to last," Moser recently told CBS News. "It was just to be there during the, the event, the landing and departing from the moon. We didn't have a requirement that the flag, the U.S. flag had to withstand all the environment for eons."
Yet Platoff says the only way to test any of the theories is to go back to the moon and look for the flag.
Black, who some call the second Betsy Ross, says that's not necessary because in her opinion the flag is still where it was left nearly 42-years ago. While the picture of the flag planted on the moon lives on as one of the most iconic images of our time.
"Little did I know I would get to the point where I would do something so famous," Black added.
Preston Rudie
You Might Be Interested In