The graphic used on the home page of this web site was taken from the official patch for the Apollo 12 mission shown here. The basic color scheme of the patch was blue and gold, selected because they are Navy colors, and all three crew members on this mission were from the Navy (which is also why the Command Module was nicknamed "Yankee Clipper").

The artwork in the center of the patch depicts a Yankee Clipper orbiting the moon's surface, symbolic of the Apollo 12 Command Module. It carries an American flag at the top of the foremast. The astronauts felt that Yankee Clipper embodied the spirit of America as well as the spirit of naval camaraderie. It trails a band of rocket exhaust as it moves through the orbital plane, symbolizing the technological achievement of space flight.

In space beyond the moon are four stars, one brighter than the other three. These stars represent the astronauts of Apollo 12. The three lighter ones are for Conrad, Gordon and Bean. The single bright star represents Clifton C. Williams, Jr. (see below), who was originally scheduled to be the Lunar Module Pilot on this mission. However, Williams lost his life in the crash of his T-38 jet trainer on October 6, 1967, and Al Bean took his place. Bean is generally credited with having the idea of putting Williams' star in the patch.

CLIFTON C. WILLIAMS, JR.
Major, USMC

Williams was a graduate of the Navy Test Pilot School at Patuxent, Maryland. At the time of his selection as an astronaut, he was attending the Marine Corps Intermediate Staff and Command School at Quantico, Virginia.

One of 14 astronauts selected by NASA in October 1963.