Charles Duke Charles Moss " Charlie " Duke , Jr . ( born October 3 , 1935 ) is a retired US Air Force brigadier general , and a former United States astronaut for NASA . As lunar module pilot for Apollo 16 in 1972 , he became the tenth and youngest person to walk on the Moon . A former test pilot , Duke has logged 4 , 147 hours flying time , which includes 3 , 632 hours in jet aircraft ; and 265 hours in space , plus 21 hours and 28 minutes of extra - vehicular activity A resident of New Braunfels , Texas , he is currently chairman of the board of directors of the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation . Biography . Education . Duke was born in Charlotte , North Carolina on October 3 , 1935 . He attended Lancaster High School in Lancaster , South Carolina , and graduated as valedictorian from Admiral Farragut Academy in St . Petersburg , Florida in 1953 . He is also an Eagle Scout . He received a bachelor of science degree in naval sciences from the United States Naval Academy in 1957 and a Master ' s Degree in aeronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1964 . Military career . Duke was commissioned upon graduation from the Naval Academy in 1957 . Entering the US Air Force , he went to Spence Air Base in Georgia for primary flight training , then to Webb Air Force Base in Texas for basic flying training , where he graduated with distinction in 1958 as a member of Pilot Training Class 59 - B . Duke completed advanced training on the F - 86 Sabre aircraft at Moody Air Force Base in Georgia , where he was a distinguished graduate . After completion of this training , Duke served three years as a fighter interceptor pilot with the 526th Fighter - Interceptor Squadron at Ramstein Air Base in West Germany . After graduating from the Aerospace Research Pilot School in September 1965 , Duke stayed on as an instructor teaching control systems and flying in the F - 101 Voodoo , F - 104 Starfighter , and T - 33 Shooting Star aircraft . NASA career . In April 1966 , Duke was one of the 19 selected for NASA ' s fifth group of astronauts . In 1969 , he was a member of the astronaut support crew for Apollo 10 . He then served as CAPCOM for Apollo 11 , the first landing on the Moon , where his distinctive Southern drawl became familiar to audiences around the world . As CAPCOM , he became the voice of a Mission Control nervous by a long landing that almost expended all of the Lunar Module " Eagle " ' s fuel . Duke ' s famous first words to the Apollo 11 crew on the surface of the Moon were flustered , " Roger , Twank . . . Tranquility , we copy you on the ground . You got a bunch of guys about to turn blue . We ' re breathing again . Thanks a lot ! " Duke was backup Lunar Module Pilot on Apollo 13 , however shortly before the mission he caught German measles from a friend ' s child and inadvertently exposed the prime crew to the disease . As Ken Mattingly had no natural immunity to the disease , Mattingly was then replaced as Command Module Pilot by Jack Swigert . Mattingly would be reassigned as Command Module Pilot of Duke ' s flight , Apollo 16 . Duke served as Lunar Module Pilot of Apollo 16 in 1972 where he and John W . Young landed at the Descartes Highlands and conducted three EVAs , making Duke the tenth person to walk upon the surface of the Moon . He also served as backup lunar module pilot for Apollo 17 . Duke retired from NASA in December 1975 . Apollo 16 . Apollo 16 ( April 16 – 27 , 1972 ) was launched from John F . Kennedy Space Center and was the fifth manned lunar landing mission . The crew consisted of John W . Young as commander , Ken Mattingly as command module pilot , and Duke as lunar module pilot . Apollo 16 was the first scientific expedition to inspect , survey , and sample materials and surface features in the Descartes region of the rugged lunar highlands . John Young commenced the then - record setting lunar surface stay of 71 hours and 14 minutes by maneuvering the lunar module " Orion " to a landing on the rough Cayley Plains . In three subsequent excursions onto the lunar surface , he logged 20 hours and 15 minutes in extravehicular activities involving the emplacement and activation of scientific equipment and experiments , the collection of nearly 213 lb ( 96 kg ) of rock and soil samples , and the evaluation and use of Rover - 2 over the roughest surface yet encountered on the moon . Other Apollo 16 achievements included the largest payload placed in lunar orbit ( 76 , 109 lb or 34 , 595 kg ) ; first cosmic ray detector deployed on the lunar surface ; first lunar observatory with the far UV camera ; and longest in - flight EVA from a command module during transearth coast ( 1 hour and 13 minutes ) . The Apollo 16 mission was concluded with a Pacific Ocean splashdown and subsequent recovery by . Personal life . Duke is married to Dorothy Meade Claiborne of Atlanta , Georgia . They have two grown sons and nine grandchildren . He and his wife reside in New Braunfels , Texas . Recreational interests include hunting , fishing , reading , and playing golf . Duke is an Eagle Scout and recipient of the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award from the Boy Scouts of America . Duke became a committed Christian after his Apollo 16 flight , and is active in prison ministry . TV and film . Duke is one of the astronauts featured in the book and documentary " In the Shadow of the Moon " . At the end of the documentary , in response to Moon landing hoax theories , he says " We ' ve been to the Moon nine times . Why would we fake it nine times , if we faked it ? " In the 1998 miniseries " From the Earth to the Moon " , Duke was portrayed by J . Downing . In " " he was voiced by Scott Glenn who portrayed Alan Shepard in " The Right Stuff " . Honors . In 1973 , Duke received an honorary doctorate of philosophy from the University of South Carolina . He also received an honorary doctorate of humanities from Francis Marion University in 1990 . Other honors include :