James Dillet Freeman

The Reverend James Dillet Freeman (1912 in Wilmington, Delaware – April 9, 2003) was apoet and a minister of the New Thought denomination Unity . He was a registered member of the Cherokee tribe. He was proud of his Native American roots.

Freeman was sometimes referred to as the "poet laureate to the moon" because his poems were twice brought to the moon, "a distinction he shares with no other author." [1] His 1941 "Prayer for Protection" was taken aboard Apollo 11 in July 1969 by Lunar Module pilot Buzz Aldrin, and a microfilm of Freeman's 1947 "I Am There" was left on the moon by James B. Irwin on Apollo 15. Freeman received the inspiration to write 'I Am There' during the death of his first wife Katherine.

Freeman's best known poems include "Blessings for a Marriage" [2] and "The Traveller." [3] The latter poem was written after one of Freeman's friends had died.

While James Dillet Freeman worked for Silent Unity and was a writer for the Unity magazine called Daily Word for most of his adult life, he proudly proclaimed on many occasions that he had never joined Unity, revelling in his independent nature and personifying a spirit present throughout Unity and the New Thought Movement.

Freeman's second wife, Billie, suffered from Alzheimer's disease for ten years. James Dillet Freeman wrote many moving articles about Billie's battle with the illness. He and Billie had no children. James Dillet Freeman died on April 9, 2003. He was 89 years of age. There had been rumours for years that James Dillet Freeman was a lover of the Reverend Doctor Alice Cronley of Oklahoma. Many dispute this rumour and believe that it was started by the late Alice Cronley for publicity.