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Author
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Topic: Happy Birthday Jim McDivitt
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Mike Isbell
Member Posts: 551
From: Silver Spring, Maryland USA
Registered: Aug 2003
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posted 06-13-2009 11:54 AM
  
Two time flier James McDivitt celebrated his 80th birthday this past Wednesday. Selected as an astronaut in 1962, Gen. McDivitt was the commander of Gemini 4 in 1965 and Apollo 9 in 1969. He then served as the Apollo Program Manager from 1969 until 1972. Happy birthday General, may you celebrate many more! |
machbusterman
Member Posts: 1778
From: Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland
Registered: May 2004
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posted 06-13-2009 12:48 PM
Happy Birthday indeed... and I'd say he looks at least 10 years younger! |
Henk Boshuijer
Member Posts: 450
From: Netherlands
Registered: May 2007
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posted 06-13-2009 06:24 PM
Happy birthday Gen. McDivitt from Holland. |
ilbasso
Member Posts: 1522
From: Greensboro, NC USA
Registered: Feb 2006
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posted 06-13-2009 07:25 PM
If there was ever any doubt that laughter keeps you young, then look no farther than Gen. McDivitt. He had me in stitches throughout Spacefest, and I had only just met him! |
Shalene
Member Posts: 47
From: San Diego, California
Registered: Apr 2008
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posted 06-13-2009 09:26 PM
As the San Diego Air & Space Museum is the home of Apollo 9, I thought this photo was appropriate for this thread! |
ilbasso
Member Posts: 1522
From: Greensboro, NC USA
Registered: Feb 2006
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posted 06-13-2009 09:48 PM
Gee, Shalene, I think I would rather have posed with you in front of Gumdrop than with those old guys who were there in February! |
bruce
Member Posts: 916
From: Fort Mill, SC, USA
Registered: Aug 2000
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posted 06-13-2009 10:14 PM
Wow - what a nice present for Gen. McDivitt!! |
chappy
Member Posts: 231
From: Cardiff, S. Wales, UK
Registered: Apr 2006
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posted 06-14-2009 02:22 AM
Good pic of you with a banner 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY' and the picture looks cool... |
DChudwin
Member Posts: 1096
From: Lincolnshire IL USA
Registered: Aug 2000
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posted 06-14-2009 01:41 PM
Jim McDivitt and Ed White were the first astronauts I ever met in person. After GT-4 they came to Chicago and appeared at an event for Chicago students, at which I and a friend represented our school. That was in 1965 and I did not meet Gen. McDivitt again until this year at SpaceFest, where I had the privilege of sitting at his dinner table. He is a straight-shooter with a great sense of humor and a friendly but tough manner. I don't think he is given enough credit for the key role that he played as Apollo Program Manager during the period which included the Apollo 13 crisis. He was one of the few Gemini or Apollo astronauts highly regarded enough to sit in the commander's seat on his first flight on GT-4, and he was the second astronaut from the Nine to fly. A true test pilot, he decided to stay with the first flight of the lunar module when he was given a chance to do the Apollo 8 mission by Deke Slayton. He was first in his class at the University of Michigan (also my alma mater) where he graduated in 1959 with a B.S. in aeronautical engineering. Gen. McDivitt is a true patriot who served his country flying 145 combat missions during the Korean War, and later as a USAF test pilot at Edwards AFB. Among a group of outstanding pilots -- the first 16 astronauts -- he stood out as a highly intelligent, confident, competent leader. If it sounds like I admire Gen. McDivitt, you're darn right I do. Happy Birthday, and many returns! |
Spacefest
Member Posts: 1168
From: Tucson, AZ
Registered: Jan 2009
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posted 06-10-2010 02:24 PM
Happy birthday Jim McDivitt. He's 81 today. |
Kite
Member Posts: 831
From: Northampton UK
Registered: Nov 2009
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posted 06-10-2010 04:10 PM
Many happy returns General McDivitt. I so enjoyed your talk and meeting you in Birmingham, UK last month. |
AstroAutos
Member Posts: 803
From: Co. Monaghan, Republic of Ireland
Registered: Mar 2009
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posted 06-10-2010 05:16 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Kite:
I so enjoyed your talk and meeting you in Birmingham, UK last month.
As did I - he was just lovely.  |
Fezman92
Member Posts: 1031
From: New Jersey, USA
Registered: Mar 2010
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posted 06-10-2010 10:17 PM
Happy Birthday General! |
Daniel Lazecky
Member Posts: 480
From: Czech Republic-Europe
Registered: Oct 2007
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posted 06-11-2010 03:59 PM
Happy birthday Gen. McDivitt from Czech Republic. |
chappy
Member Posts: 231
From: Cardiff, S. Wales, UK
Registered: Apr 2006
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posted 06-12-2010 01:20 AM
Have a great birthday and enjoy your special day. |
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