American hero.

The Naval aviator and test pilot turned astronaut is perhaps most famous for almost making it to the moon.

He was the commander of the Apollo 13 mission.

The dramatic story of those astronauts returning to Earth after major mechanical problems in space was made into a hit movie starring Tom Hanks as level Lovell who lived in Lake Forest died last week.

He was a guest on this program many times.

Here he is in 1995. right after the Apollo 13 movie came out with an introduction from feel Ponce.

>> Apollo 13 mission was to land 2 of its crew members on the moon, including the commander, Jim Lovell.

4 level.

It was an extension of a lifelong dream.

Badge nation can run wild yesterday of.

>> love to be the first guy to land on the moon.

And this was a drive.

I think all of us had at that particular time.

>> That honor had already gone to another man by the time, Apollo 13 lifted off on April.

11th 1970.

>> But 2 days into the flight, the crew's mission changed from landing on the moon.

>> To returning to Earth alive.

>> A bubble type of noise.

The spacecraft rock back and forth.

I could hear the Jets foreign because we are on autopilot that would stabilize the ship and then everything is quiet.

>> The problem was caused when an electrical short circuit caused a fire in an oxygen tank.

The tank exploded damaging key systems and causing the loss of oxygen power and the ability to maneuver without the electrical power.

command module was dead without electrical power.

And without the crew were dead.

That's how we work.

We were on the point.

Of loosen everybody and everything.

This was the point in Apollo 13.

That is the dramatic centerpiece of the movie by the same name starring Tom Hanks as Jim Lovell.

By all reports, the movie is a faithful account of the real events chronicled in a book level coauthored.

>> The book and the movie underscore Not just the result of the men in the capsule but of the people at Mission Control.

I want this mark.

>> All the way about Earth.

With time to spare.

Never lost an American in space was sure as not going to lose one on my The crew left the command module odyssey and use the lunar module Aquarius as a lifeboat.

>> For 3 harrowing days, the crew overcame bitter cold navigational problems and a buildup of deadly carbon dioxide just before the reentry.

The crew returned to the command module and jettisoned Aquarius.

The final unknown was whether the command module's Heat shield would hold up for re entry.

It did.

Visitors to the museum who've seen the movie have their own questions for the commander.

I know he a fat ugly follow directions.

But was there any time that he felt like they were just going to lose it.

I wonder if he was disappointed that he never got.

>> Actually to land on the moon.

I just wondered how how they filled inside 2 and thinking of wife and children.

If the mission, the book and the movie have an underlying message, it may be a simple but you never know what what events are going to transpire to for Chicago tonight.

>> I'm Phil Ponce.

And now we're delighted and pleased.

Welcome back.

2 Chicago tonight, Jim Lovell, the commander of the Apollo 13 flight and the recipient last week.

>> Of the Congressional Space Medal of Honor presented at the White House by President Clinton.

Congratulations, sir.

Thank you, Joe.

And over about did the president have any words for you that you see the movie?

>> Oh, yes, he saw the movie, actually one of the first people of the 8th of June before it came out along with a lot of universal people.

And John Glenn was there that you have a chance to talk with him at all about this whole phenomenon of this movie and >> the tremendous public response.

You got just a little bit of why there is such a response for this movie.

I mean, it happened a quarter of a century ago.

Why so many does everybody responding to it, why they get up and clapping in the movie theaters after it's over with maze May.

But I think an ally because it's a piece of Americana.

It's something they can all be proud of its a little bit of their patrons, patriotic, no sense patriotism see this thing and see what happened.

What did you think of the movie when you first saw?

I enjoyed it.

I guess I'm one of the few authors of likes to see their their books going to movies.

But it was to all extents, very authentic.

Well done.

I have a happy that Ron Howard Tom and the rest of the crew.

were part of it.

Was there any did you envision?

Did you ever think of anybody else playing you other than Tom Hanks?

>> Well, early and this is, you know, the first talk with Ron Howard because he asked me who should >> do you think should play my part.

And I and I just thought of Kevin Costner only because I look a little bit like and what I was his age.

But I right now I couldn't think of a better actor because Hanks is a space enthusiast.

He's a closet.

Astronaut.

always want to play the part of a national when he got the acting business.

How was he, by the way?

>> As somebody who had the training and do this, what how did he do when you took him up and did some flying with you?

>> Well, first of all, they asked me Jim, I've got to know your character.

I have to know your mannerisms.

Can we ever get together?

That's what I invited down so that I thought here's a guy that really was to lure in the party doesn't want to go out read a script and the do it on his own.

And so he was very active.

He looked at me and when I looked at the movie, I saw some of those subtle mannerisms by all of that.

I didn't think it picked up when we're together.

>> I've got some questions, which I noted that feel Ponce.

So people feel Ponce is peace raised and I think we ought to do them.

The courtesy of getting responses from right now.

Were you ever confused or disoriented during the flight, particularly after the oxygen tank won't?

Well, we were never confused or disoriented, but our low point was probably.

>> When the explosion occurred and after we had analyzed the fact that the command module out as he was dying and we did not yet have solutions how to use it in a battle to get home.

So that was point where how soon should we get to learn We're going to transfer.

All of our guys.

You come under guidance.

Bremmer is over the moon about.

>> Did you experience as much emotion as we see at some points in the movie?

>> Yes, I think we did.

course.

Remember, all 3 of us were test pilots.

We've been a crisis before.

So, you know, we bounce off the walls and panic for about 10 minutes.

after that was we'll be right back.

Where we started from.

So we starting think logically of how to get back.

Were you disappointed the one of the persons interviewed said were you disappointed that you didn't actually land on the moon?

Yes, very much when the explosion first occurred, the indications were that we could land, but we were deep trouble.

And I was very disappointed.

And then of course, we are in deep trouble.

And then after we landed back on Earth for a long time, I was very frustrated.

The fact that I did not complete really what I wanted to His re-entry like what was re-entry like on that one?

Actually was the same as Apollo You come on and you look outside everything is 0 gravity.

It's all black velvet sky out there and suddenly you start to hit the atmosphere.

>> And the dark black skies start to turn into a very, very pale blue.

And that starts to get to late pick.

You start to get pressed back into the college, the G lows, the weight goes up and up and finally hit 6 g 6 times own weight and then everything as white outside because all all the flames are going by the spacecraft and you're just anchored back in the seat and then it dies down a bit.

And you keep on about 3 times your own way.

3, James, for a long time.

And finally, things slow down and then the automatic system start to pop this drugs come out and then the maze and then you breathe a sigh of relief.

>> But on on Apollo 13, with all of the problems of having enough.

Energy and was the trajectory right when you went into that one?

Were you?

Did you have a?

I'm about to meet my maker moment?

>> Well, that's true.

We did everything we could to get home.

We did know whether chill was cracked.

If it was cracked, that would be all she wrote because we have burned up.

We did know whether the pair issues that come out because the pyrotechnics that were fired about have been soap or 4 days.

So what you have to trust and faith and we just said, let's see what happens.

You pray?

Yes, I think, Sally, we all We course as movie predicted.

We said it's been a great fight, Let's hope we get through it.

>> And Jim Little died at the