Mississippi city dedicates statue of Apollo 13 astronaut

BILOXI, Miss. (AP) — A city on the Mississippi Gulf Coast has unveiled a statute to honor an Apollo 13 astronaut who grew up there. A crowd turned out Sunday in Biloxi to cheer 88-year-old Fred Haise Jr. He left his handprints in concrete and pulled a drape to reveal the 8-foot statue that depicts him in his spacesuit. The original ceremony was planned for the 50th anniversary of Apollo 13 in April 2020 but was canceled because of COVID-19. Biloxi Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich called Haise “the greatest Biloxian.” An oxygen tank exploded on board Apollo 13 two days after its launch, forcing the crew to abandoned their moon landing.