Armed Polite Society
Main Forums => The Roundtable => Topic started by: Brad Johnson on July 20, 2006, 11:51:51 AM
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I just talked to a friend of mine who claims her grandfather has one of Ed White's flight suits!
For those unversed in NASA history, Ed White was the first American to walk in space (Gemini 4, June 3rd, 1965). Ed, along with astronauts Gus Grissom and Roger Chaffee, were killed on January 27, 1967, when fire erupted in their Apollo 1 capsule during a "plugs out" test on the launch pad.
From what I can gather, my friend's grandfather was in the army and was working in Florida on loan to NASA. He and his wife became good friends of the Whites. After Ed's death his widow, Patricia, was putting away things with my friend's grandparents' help. When asked what she was going to do with all of Ed's military stuff Patricia said "I don't know, probably throw it away. Take what you want." They got one of Ed's flight suits, patches and all.
I'm trying to wrangle a visit with grampa. I want to pick his brain for a while, as well as get a look at the suit to see which flight suit it actually is. I'm guessing it was probably one of Ed's Air Force jumpers, but who knows. If I get the chance I will get some pics.
Brad
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Please do that, I'm a space program fanboy.