Georgia Magazine - May 2019 - 46

Hometown HERO

By Jackie Kennedy

John
Wolfram
★

★★

Vietnam vet from Powder
Springs builds ministry
where he went to war

46

Georgia Magazine

May 2019

COURTESY JOHN WOLFRAM MINISTRIES

O

n July 20, 1969, Apollo 11
astronauts Neil Armstrong
and Buzz Aldrin made their
historic moon landing-what Armstrong
described as "one small step for a man,
one giant leap for mankind."
Four days later, when the Apollo
capsule splashed down in the Pacific
Ocean, Powder Springs resident John
Wolfram was the first man in the water to
meet them.
Wolfram was a 20-year-old Navy
SEAL frogman whose job was to attach a
sea anchor to stabilize the capsule when
it landed.
"I was a fast swimmer and had a
strong kick," recalls Wolfram, 70. "The
astronauts touched down, and we helped
them into rafts."
Wolfram joined the Navy at age 19
and deployed to Vietnam the year before
the moon landing; he returned to Vietnam for a second tour of duty in 1970. He
lost eight friends in the war.
After becoming a Christian, Wolfram
began full-time ministry in 1976. About
a dozen of his Navy SEAL teammates became Christians, too, he says. "Even more
remarkable," he adds, "five of us frogmen
were called to preach."
Wolfram figures God has a good
sense of humor.
"He called me back to Vietnam
where people tried to kill me," he says,
noting that he's baptized Vietnamese
soldiers who would have been enemies
during the war.
His nonprofit organization, John

His nonprofit
organization,
John Wolfram
Ministries,
built a Bible
school in
Vietnam as
a memorial
to his friends
killed during
the war.

John Wolfram was the first man in the water when Apollo 11
astronauts returned from the moon. He holds a copy of his book
and a poster depicting the 1969 splashdown.

Wolfram Ministries, built a Bible school in Vietnam as a
memorial to his friends killed in the war.
As America celebrates the 50th anniversary of the moon
landing, Wolfram visits churches nationwide to share his
Apollo 11 story and Christian testimony.
"Dad has many things to be proud of, yet he is a humble
man of great character and integrity," says his son-in-law,
Anders Hvass, a member of Douglasville-based GreyStone
Power Corp., who nominated Wolfram as a Georgia
Magazine Hometown Hero.
Jackie Kennedy is a freelance writer living in LaGrange.



Georgia Magazine - May 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Georgia Magazine - May 2019

Contents
Georgia Magazine - May 2019 - Intro
Georgia Magazine - May 2019 - Cover1
Georgia Magazine - May 2019 - Cover2
Georgia Magazine - May 2019 - Contents
Georgia Magazine - May 2019 - 4
Georgia Magazine - May 2019 - 5
Georgia Magazine - May 2019 - 6
Georgia Magazine - May 2019 - 7
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Georgia Magazine - May 2019 - 46
Georgia Magazine - May 2019 - Cover3
Georgia Magazine - May 2019 - Cover4
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