MOY BELL ; Terry “Mother” Moy

07/05/2026

With NBC 10 WJAR – I just got recognized as one of their top fans! 🎉 Thank you for the interview it was great to speak about my SEAL TEAM ONE and Apollo 17 Capsule Recovery🇺🇸

06/30/2026

As the Artemis mission splashed down, Terry “Mother” Moy was transported back to his own role in history during the recovery of Apollo 17. In this interview with Dan Jennings of the Channel 10 NBC affiliate in Providence, Rhode Island, Moy recalls the unforgettable moment when he secretly tucked a small bottle of champagne into his wetsuit before swimming to the returning astronauts.
After helping secure the crew, Moy offered each astronaut a celebratory swig of champagne—a spontaneous tradition that wasn’t exactly part of NASA’s official recovery protocol. Later, NASA flight surgeons were puzzled when routine examinations revealed traces of alcohol on the astronauts’ breath. The mystery remained until the story of Moy’s hidden champagne bottle came to light, becoming one of the many colorful and little-known moments in the history of the Apollo recovery missions.

06/27/2026

April 24, 2026
NBC 10 WJAR
TERRY MOY
ARTEMIS SPLASHDOWN

The photo is from the Apollo 17 splashdown in 1972. The man standing outside the capsule is Terry.

He was a Navy SEAL who greeted the crew of the Apollo 17 when they came back to Earth.

“Soon as they hit the water, we hit the water. Swam over to it. Put a collar around it, inflatable collar so it wouldn’t sink," said Moy. "Problem was, with my sense of humor, being Irish or whatever, I opened the hatch up, they didn’t smell well. They’d been up there for a while.”

He somehow snuck a bottle of champagne in his wetsuit.

“I popped the cork. Everybody had a swig," said Moy.

It left NASA doctors puzzled at first.

“They couldn’t understand how they had alcohol on their breath," Moy said. "Were there bars on the moon?"

Moy would hear it, but remain the golden boy of the Navy SEALs.

https://turnto10.com/news/local/seekonk-navy-seal-recalls-apollo-1969-splashdown-hidden-champagne-toast-family-personal-life-vietnam-veteran-april-23-2025

Terry Moy's den in Seekonk is like a museum of history, but in the ...

06/26/2026

“Drop and give me 20!”

For generations of BUD/S candidates, those four words meant one thing: the training had just begun.

Captured in this black-and-white moment, Master Chief Terry “Mother” Moy reminds a candidate that every push-up counts. Sometimes the lesson came with a boot on your hand. It wasn’t about punishment—it was about teaching discipline, resilience, and the ability to perform under pressure when it mattered most.

From 1968 to 1972, instructors like Terry helped shape the warriors who would carry the UDT and SEAL legacy forward. The standards were uncompromising because the mission demanded nothing less.

Today, this iconic image is displayed at the San Diego Navy SEAL Museum, preserving a moment that speaks to the grit, sacrifice, and tradition of BUD/S.

The pain was temporary. The lessons lasted a lifetime.

06/25/2026

A Powerful Tradition Honoring a Fallen Brother🔔

At the West Coast Navy SEAL Reunion, Mike Gotchey, BUD/S Class 58, stood before the legendary MOY Bell to perform one of the most solemn traditions in the Navy SEAL community — ringing out a fallen brother.

The original bell, seen here, remains an enduring symbol of brotherhood, sacrifice, and remembrance. The bell continues to serve two sacred purposes: it is still used during BUD/S training, and each year at the reunion it is rung to honor Navy SEALs who have passed on.

With each strike of the bell, a name is remembered, a life is honored, and a promise is renewed — that no SEAL will ever be forgotten.

For those who have gone before us, the sound of the MOY Bell carries across generations of Frogmen and SEALs, reminding us that while a warrior may leave this world, his legacy and his bond with his teammates endure forever.

Fair winds and following seas to our fallen brothers. We remember. We honor. We will never forget.

The replica Bell now on permanent display at Navy SEAL Museum San Diego

06/22/2026

BOOK TRAILER: MOY BELL

06/22/2026

Some images are more than photographs. They are pieces of history frozen in time.

These rare, time-stamped photographs Lavore captured here of the remarkable five-year BUD/S instructor tour of Terry “Mother” Moy from 1968–1972—a period that shaped generations of Underwater Demolition Teams and the earliest Navy SEAL warriors.

Long before the words “The Only Easy Day Was Yesterday” became known around the world, men like Terry Moy were standing on the grinder, in the surf, and alongside the bell, forging the mindset, resilience, and brotherhood that would define Naval Special Warfare.

Every photograph tells a story of sacrifice, discipline, and an era of BUD/S that can never be recreated.

This is not just Terry Moy’s legacy—it is a chapter of Navy SEAL history preserved for future generations.

🇺🇸 1968–1972
The grinder. The surf. The bell. The men who built the legacy.

06/22/2026