When I did my post on the Apollo 14 LEM and the Mission Crew, I was struck that they all had passed. Given that these were heroes of my youth, I have delved into seeing how many of the ‘Moonwalkers’ [12] and CM Pilots [6] & Non-Landers [9] are left alive. Given that the last Apollo Mission was 48 years ago (Apollo 17 (December 7–19, 1972)), it should not be surprising that few are left. This does not include Apollo 1, 7 or 9 as they did not get to the Moon.
01) Frank Frederick Borman II (March 14, 1928) - CircumLunar Apollo 8, OLDEST,
02) James Arthur Lovell Jr. (March 25, 1928) - Successful Failure Apollo 13,
03) Edwin Eugene ‘Buzz’ Aldrin Jr. (January 20, 1930) - #2 Moonwalker Apollo 11,
04) Thomas Patten Stafford (September 17, 1930) - LEM Pilot Non-Landing Apollo 10,
05) Michael Collins (October 31, 1930) - CM Pilot Apollo 11,
06) David Randolph Scott (June 6, 1932) - #7 Moonwalker Apollo 15,
07) William Alison Anders (October 17, 1933) - CircumLunar Apollo 8,
08) Thomas Kenneth Mattingly II (March 17, 1936) - CM Pilot Apollo 16,
09) Fred Wallace Haise Jr. (November 14, 1933) - Successful Failure Apollo 13,
10) Charles Moss Duke Jr. (October 3, 1935) - #10 Moonwalker Apollo 16, [Youngest].
Thus of the 27 who entered the gravity well of the Earth’s Moon, but 10 still survive with the youngest, Charles Duke Jr, at age 85. The Question asks itself, will they all be dead before the next human footprint on Earth’s Moon?
At the risk of using up all the tinfoil in the local grocery store, I believe there is more to the end of the Apollo program and manned spaceflight than budget considerations. We at some high level know this, and I’m pretty certain the Russians do as well. Everybody else (Chinese, Europeans, etc) will scoff and laugh.
From all the unusual behavior surrounding the program and its aftermath, the “people in charge” acted less like people loosing their jobs because of funding and more like people absolutely terrified. My impressions; your millage may vary.
“The Question asks itself, will they all be dead before the next human footprint on Earth’s Moon?”
Yes, and those will be the last for many hundreds or thousands of years; all other attempts will end in failure because of one thing or another - the causes will never quite be pinned down.
The two Apollo 13 crew that are still living are luckiest of the surviving members on your list!