Yes, I was in the Marines at the time, in Denver.............
I watched the Evel Knievel TV coverage of the rocket flight from Idaho with
my friend Joey - he was also ten years old. Seemed to take hours.
And YES we were very disappointed when the chute opened as soon as the
silly thing launched. I’ve always suspected that someone who cared about
Evel sabotaged the launch - so he would run not the risk of death yet again.
But it’s a good question - how many times DID he risk his life on pointless
daredevil stunts?
.
By the way - “ Evel Knievel died in 2007, at age 69, after years of failing
health that included diabetes and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.”