posted 01-20-2018 04:46 PM               

The special exhibit will coincide with what would have been Pogue's 88th birthday. Items from his distinguished, record-setting career will be on display.

Pogue was born in Okemah on Jan. 23, 1930. He grew up attending small rural schools, but graduated from Sand Springs High School in 1947. He earned degrees from Oklahoma Baptist University and Oklahoma State University.

Pogue served in the Air Force becoming a combat fighter pilot in Korea and an aerobatic pilot with the Air Force's Thunderbirds. In 1966, he was selected by NASA for the space program but he finally got his chance at space when he blasted off on November 16, 1973 as the pilot for Skylab 4.

"This exhibit is an opportunity for Oklahomans to celebrate a fellow Oklahoman who achieved great things that were literally out of this world," said Tonya Blansett, executive director of the Tulsa Air and Space Museum & Planetarium.

Among several of his notable awards and titles, Pogue was also an honorary board member of the Tulsa Air and Space Museum & Planetarium. He donated several items to the Museum including 3 NASA flight suits, signed prints from his collection of space photographs, honorary medallions and various letters and telegrams from notable people like President Richard Nixon and Oklahoma Governor Henry Bellmon.