On April 16th it will be 26 years since Charles Duke walked on the moon as a part of Apollo 16 mission. Duke, 36, as lunar module pilot, was assisted by John W. Young. The pilot was Thomas K. Mattingly.

The round-trip took 12 days. The time spent on the moon’s surface was scheduled for 73 hours. Duke and Young were trained in geology and assigned to conduct surveys and collect samples of moon rocks.

For the town of Lancaster, Duke’s walk was special. He wasn’t born in Lancaster but he had grown up there along with his twin brother, Dr. William W. Duke, who was practicing medicine in Lancaster and a younger sister, Betsy, who was a senior at UNC-Chapel Hill.

The family, including their parents, had all gone to Cape Canaveral for the launch. And there were a lot of other Lancaster folk in Florida, including 40 young people from First Baptist, Dukes’ home church.

John Glenn, the first to orbit the earth, said he was “envious” and would love to land on the moon. It seemed that every grade school kid in Lancaster shared Glenn’s sentiments. Their science and social studies curriculum had heavily emphasized space travel and they all knew who Charles Duke was and what he would do while on the moon.

Duke was well prepared. He was a graduate of the U. S. Naval Academy and had a master’s degree in aeronautics and astronautics from Massachusett Institute of Technology (MIT). As an airforce pilot he had flown over 4200 hours on planes. In 1966, six years before his walk on the moon, he had been chosen to be an astronaut and he had previously been on a space flight that lasted over 264 hours.

Duke and Young collected nearly 213 pounds of rock and took soil samples. There were plenty of “firsts”: first to explore an area of the moon known as “Descartes,” largest payload ever , first cosmic ray detector deployed, first lunar observatory with a far ultraviolet camera, etc. The moon exploration phase was accomplished without a flaw.

The historic flight ended with a Pacific splashdown and recovery by the USS Ticonderoga.

Lt. Col. Duke had been the 10th man to step on the moon. Lancaster planned a celebration for his promised return to his hometown. May 25th and 26th were picked for the celebration with the 26th named “Charles Duke Day.”

For Charles Duke Day there was a parade with 15 bands and a special float for Duke and his family. The governor, 2 U. S. senators, 6 Congressman and other celebrities were present for the big dinner and dance. The Lancaster News printed a special 88-page edition with pictures galore and what seems to be every business in town offering their congratulations to Duke and expressing their pride in his accomplishment.

Duke also served as Apollo 17’s backup lunar module pilot. He retired in December 1975, nearly 40 years of age and unlikely to get another space flight assignment.

He chose to go into private business in San Antonio. At the same time he entered the USAF Reserves where his official assignment was as Staff Engineer AFSC and Mobilization Augmentee to Commander AF Basic Military Training Center and the Commander USAF Recruiting Service. He was promoted to Brigadier General in 1979 and resigned from the reserve in June 1986.

Between 1976 and the present, Duke has been president of two corporations (including Charlie Duke Enterprises), a partner in Campbell-Duke Investments (which he now owns as well as Duke Resources, Inc.) and director or chairman of several other corporations.

To add to all of the above enterprises, Duke is president of Duke Ministry for Christ. As an active Christian Lay Witness he has spoken at numerous churches and other gatherings.