posted 04-11-2018 10:18 PM               

Here is a photo of 14 of the 17 MOL astronauts.

Top row L-R: Herres, Hartsfield, Overmyer, Fullerton, Crippen, Peterson, Bobko, Abrahamson. Bottom Row L-R: Finley, Lawyer, Taylor, Crews, Neubeck, Truly. Not in photo: Adams, Lawrence and Macleay.

Here is the list of the MOL astronauts:

MOL Group 1 - November 1965
• Michael J. Adams USAF (1930–1967) – killed on X-15 flight, 15 November 1967
  
• Albert H. Crews Jr. USAF
  
• John L. Finley USN (1935–2006)
  
• Richard E. Lawyer USAF (1932–2005)
  
• Lachlan Macleay USAF
  
• Francis G. Neubeck USAF
  
• James M. Taylor USAF (1930–1970) – killed on T-38 flight, 4 September 1970
  
• Richard H. Truly USN – Pilot, Space Shuttle Enterprise ALT #2, STS-2; Commander: STS-8; Commander, Naval Space Command as a Vice Admiral; Administrator: NASA, 1989–92

  MOL Group 2 - June 1966
  

• Karol J. Bobko USAF – Pilot, STS-6, Commander, STS-51-D, STS-51-J
  
• Robert L. Crippen USN – Pilot, STS-1, Commander, STS-7, STS-41-C, STS-41-G; Director, Kennedy Space Center, 1992–95
  
• C. Gordon Fullerton USAF (1936–2013) – Pilot, Space Shuttle Enterprise ALT #1, STS-3, Commander, STS-51-F
  
• Henry W. Hartsfield, Jr. USAF (1933–2014) – Pilot, STS-4, Commander, STS-41-D, STS-61-A; Director, Human Exploration and Development of Space Independent Assurance
  
• Robert F. Overmyer USMC (1936–1996) – Pilot, STS-5, Commander: STS-51-B; killed in Cirrus crash, 22 March 1996

  MOL Group 3 - June 1967
  

• James A. Abrahamson USAF — Director: Strategic Defense Initiative as a Lieutenant General
  
• Robert T. Herres USAF (1932–2008) – Vice Chairman: Joint Chiefs of Staff as a General
  
• Robert H. Lawrence, Jr. USAF (1935–1967) – Killed in training accident, 8 December 1967
  
• Donald H. Peterson USAF – Mission specialist: STS-6

I have never seen a James Taylor autograph to even know what one looks like.

Does anyone have and/or know of someone having a full set of MOL astronaut autographs? I don't know of anyone.

posted 04-12-2018 07:37 PM               

I acquired my Adams, Lawrence and Taylor autographs from the collection of Joe Fitzpatrick who of course ran Space Craft Covers in the 1960s. Joe passed away in 1970 and when we purchased what Joe's widow had back in 1988 there were MANY autographs.

Both the Adams and Taylor are on blank stuffer cards. I even have the envelope the Adams one was sent back to Joe in. The Lawrence is on a Gandhi stamp FDC. No idea the connection there but at least the signature is good!

posted 04-19-2018 11:16 AM               

Autographs of 14 of the 17 were not especially hard to obtain, with most possible to acquire through the mail back in the "good old days" of space autograph collecting of the 1960s, '70s and '80s.

Other autograph sets of space-related pilots and astronauts are like-wise difficult to complete, but only usually because of early deceased pilots.

The "king" of such a set would be autographs of all the Bell X-1 rocket plane pilots. By my records there were 19 pilots who flew at least one X-1 flight. We all have Chuck Yeager's autograph, but those having an autograph of these other X-1 pilots, Alvin Johnston, Herbert Hoover, Howard Lilly, James Fitzgerald, Albert Boyd and Patrick Fleming, have some very rare autographs.

Most of us have to be content to have autographs of no more than ten of the 17 X-1 pilots, with chances of going beyond 10 or 11 remote. But acquiring autographs of 8-10 of the 17 X-1 pilots is very possible, with photos of the X-1 in flight and signed by 6-7 are sometimes available.

Autographs of all six X-20/Dyna-soar pilots are difficult mainly because of early deceased pilots Russell Rogers and James Woods.

Autographs of all nine pilots who few at least one of the six Lifting Body aircraft (on free, untethered, flights), however, are not especially hard to find. These include the M2-F1, M2-F2, M2-F3, HL-10, X-24A and X-24B. Most of these pilots were excellent about signing for many years.

And to conclude, another difficult set of autographs to complete would be of all 32 Manned Spaceflight Engineers (MSE) who were selected for possible military flights on the Space Shuttle (of which only two flew on the shuttle).