My Dad, A Pioneer in Space Travel

With the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11 and the landing of the first people on the Moon, I have a lot to be proud of. With this remembrance, I have to honor my dad for Father's Day and him being one of the pioneers in the world of space.

You see, not to many people had a dad who worked as an engineer in this exciting field of space travel. He was an engineer who worked on some of the first intercontinental ballistic missiles, which preceded the launching of the Apollo missions. His titles included: launch conductor, teaching Air Force candidates and research and development.

We moved from state to state while achieving these objectives, and probably why I have vagabond shoes today. It was in the sixties and a very exciting time, which included the race to land the first man on the moon. I still have vivid memories of my dad working and living in Huntsville, Alabama. I was born in San Diego where he worked for General Dynamics.

How did my dad get into this line of work? He was a veteran of WW2 and was in the Army Corps. I ask my mom years later about his military service and she said, they kept sending him to schools which included this emerging technology.

 With this training, he was well trained to enter this important and emerging field of work.  His list of job titles included, launch conductor for the Snark Missile at Cape Canaveral. He then went on to General Dynamics installing Atlas missile sites in Texas.

When we moved to Huntsville, his experience had led him to research and development with Brown Engineering at Redstone Arsenal. There was a team of scientists and engineers working on the space program, which included my dad. His boss was Wernher von Braun, considered the founder of space exploration in the United States. I can remember my dad coming home and complaining about something von Braun had said! I didn't know at the time, the magnitude of his stature !

The technology my dad used working on the Snark and Atlas missiles was important in launching the first men to the moon. It was such a race to get to the moon. Looking back proudly, I can say
 my dad helped get us there! Happy anniversary to landing on the moon and happy Father's Day, Dad.


My Dad at my UF graduation. That is the O'Connell Center in the back when it was brand new.