Note: Only forum leaders may delete posts.
*HTML is ON *UBB Code is ON Smilies Legend
Smilies Legend
[i]In February 1957 I was in Class 18 at Navy Test Pilot School along with Hal Crandall, who was a later finalist for the Mercury group of astronauts. This meant we were a year ahead of Pete Conrad and Jim Lovell — Wally Schirra was also in that class — and two years ahead of John Young, which means that much more experience. Wally, Pete, Jim and Bob Solliday from Class 20 were all selected to try out for the Mercury group, as was Hal Crandall, but I didn't get that particular tap on my shoulder, and I still don't know the reason. Therein lies the reason for my initial disappointment. Anyway, back in the summer of '62, Pete Conrad and I were both in Fighter Squadron VF-96, which was the second F4 Phantom squadron on the West Coast. That year, the two of us were also involved in testing for the second NASA astronaut group. Of course Pete had earlier been under consideration for the Mercury group — which I knew about — and then we were both chosen to go to the School of Aviation Medicine down in San Antonio during the second group selection process. We both made the final group of 32, but in the end Pete was chosen, and I wasn't. Although I was obviously delighted for Pete, that was a real bitter pill for me to swallow. Why didn't I make it? Once again I didn't know and wasn't given any reason. After the new astronaut group was announced by NASA, Pete and I had a long conversation about what it meant for both of us. I have to admit it had been probably been a bit of an ego trip for me back then, but when I missed out I was extremely bitter and even thought about resigning from the navy. With this in mind I went around to Boeing to see if I was interested in working for them, and also Rockwell. But then Pete and I had our conversation, which was interesting, because we agreed neither of us knew what the hell the future held for us, or what we'd gotten ourselves into. I guess failures teach you more than anything else in life, and you grow up a little as a result, so I finally got over my disappointment. The interesting thing for me now was that VF-96 was shortly going to be deployed to the Far East with the Seventh Fleet on the [USS] Ranger and this had been part of our conversation on future prospects. We'd also been told there were indications another astronaut selection would take place the next year. So I swallowed my disappointment and waited to see what would happen next. Like they say, time heals all wounds. As it turned out, I was selected in '63, but it wasn't until several years later, while at NASA, that I learned the reason I may have been rejected as unsuccessful the year before. It was all to do with a question mark about the curvature of my lower spine. During the early part of the selection process Jim Irwin and I were sent to see a specialist — an orthopedic surgeon. Now Jim had earlier been in a significant airplane accident and had been badly banged up, so that was understandable, but I was a little curious as to why I was there as well. I thought 'What the hell is this about?' but convinced myself it must be part of the medical evaluation, and of course back then you had to be 100 percent fit or you'd be rejected. As things turned out I was selected and Jim wasn't, at least not then anyway, but I was none the wiser. So I guess that visit to the orthopedic surgeon cleared up the question mark on the curvature of my lower spine, as it never entered into any conversation from then on during the selection process. But I strongly believe that was the reason I wasn't selected in the second group along with my good buddy, Pete Conrad.[/i]
Contact Us | The Source for Space History & Artifacts
Copyright 1999-2024 collectSPACE. All rights reserved.