Who Are We?

No emotional wringing posts today, just a mention of a very talented man and a who are we trivia test. The answers to yesterday's test appear at the end of the blog entry.

Frank McCourt author of Angela's Ashes died July 19, 2009. A uniquely talented individual who was published after retiring as teacher in New York City. The original publication of Angel's Ashes was 25,000 copies but then went on to sell over four million copies. Intelligent, Funny, witty, he will be missed.

I was Born in Rome, Italy, on October 31, 1930. Married to the former Patricia of Boston, Massachusetts. Three grown children (two daughters, one son). My hobbies include fishing and handball. I graduated from Saint Albans School in Washington, D.C.; received a Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, in 1952. Member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots. Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Presented the Presidential Medal for Freedom in 1969. I chose an Air Force career following graduation from West Point. I served as an experimental flight test officer at the Air Force Flight Test Center, Edwards Air Force Base, California, and, in that capacity, tested performance and stability and control characteristics of Air Force aircraft--primarily jet fighters. As pilot on the 3-day Gemini X mission, launched July 18, 1966, I shared with command pilot, John Young, in the accomplishments of that record-setting flight. These accomplishments included a successful rendezvous and docking with a separately launched Agena target vehicle and, using the power of the Agena, maneuvering the Gemini spacecraft into another orbit for a rendezvous with a second, passive Agena. My skillful performance in completing two periods of extravehicular activity included the recovery of a micrometeorite detection experiment from the passive Agena. Gemini X attained an apogee of approximately 475 statute miles and traveled a distance of 1,275,091 statute miles--after which splashdown occurred in the West Atlantic, 529 miles east of Cape Kennedy. The spacecraft landed 2.6 miles from the USS GUADALCANAL and became the second spacecraft in the Gemini program to land within eye and camera range of the prime recovery ship. Although I was a the command pilot of another famous flight I am often the forgotten one. I rode instead of walked. Who Am I?

Sometimes men hate being second and alhtough I was a bit disappointed at not being first I really didn't hate being second at this one major point in history. I was born January 20, 1930 in Montclair, New Jersey. After graduating from Montclair High School in Montclair, New Jersey in 1946, I turned down a full scholarship offer from The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and instead went to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. I obtained my famous nickname because my sister just couldn't pronounce brother. I liked the nickname so much it became my legal first name in 1988. I graduated third in his class at West Point in 1951 with a B.S. degree. I was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force and served as a jet fighter pilot during the Korean War. I flew 66 combat missions in F-86 Sabres and shot down two Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 aircraft. The June 8, 1953 issue of LIFE magazine featured gun camera photos taken by me of one of the Russian pilots ejecting from his damaged aircraft. After the war, I was assigned as an aerial gunnery instructor at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, and next was an aide at the U.S. Air Force Academy. He flew F-100 Super Sabres as a flight commander at Bitburg, Germany in the 22nd Fighter Squadron. I then earned my D.Sc. degree in Astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, Massachusetts. My graduate thesis was Line-of-sight guidance techniques for manned orbital rendezvous. On completion of my doctorate, I was assigned to the Gemini Target Office of the Air Force Space Systems Division in Los Angeles, and finally to the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School Edwards Air Force Base. I set a record for extra-vehicular activity and proved that astronauts could work outside the spacecraft. I originally was proposed as the first make this historic step but due to the physical positioning of the cred it was easier for a crew mate to get the glory. In March 1972, I retired from active duty after 21 years of service, and returned to the Air Force in a managerial role, but my career was blighted by personal problems. I struggled with clinical depression and alcoholism in the years following my famous flight career. I helped create the rap single and video, "Rocket Experience". I have been married three times. With my first wife I had three children. I married my current and third wife on Valentine's Day in 1988. I have won the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, two awards of the Distinguished Flying Cross, and three awards of the Air Medal. Civilian awards and decorations include the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Robert J. Collier Trophy, the Robert H. Goddard Memorial Trophy, and the Harmon International Trophy. I also made a guest star appearance in an episode of animated sitcom The Simpsons entitled "Deep Space Homer. I also received the 2003 Humanitarian Award from Variety, the Children's Charity, which, according to the organization, "is given to an individual who has shown unusual understanding, empathy, and devotion to mankind." Who Am I.

Don't confuse me with a former hocky player with the same name. I was born August 5, 1930 in Wapakoneta, Ohio. I married twice and had three children. Sadly my first wife died of pneumonia, related to her weakened health from cancer, on January 28, 1962. I married my second wife in 1994. Among other things I have been a test pilot, university professor, and United States Naval Aviator. While I am remembered for being first on that famous day, it was also a last for me. I am a recipient of the Congressional Space Medal of Honor. When I was in the United States Navy I saw action in the Korean War. I was only the second person in my family to attend college. I was also to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), but the only engineer I knew (who had attended MIT) dissuaded me from attending. My college tuition was paid for under the Holloway Plan; successful applicants committed to four years of study, followed by three years of service in the United States Navy, then completion of the final two years of the degree. At Purdue, I received average marks in my subjects, with a GPA that rose and fell over the eight semesters. I received a Bachelor of Science degree in aeronautical engineering from Purdue University in 1955, and a Master of Science degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Southern California in 1970. I hold honorary doctorates from a number of universities. My call-up from the Navy arrived on January 26, 1949, and required me to report to Naval Air Station Pensacola for flight training. This lasted almost 18 months, during which time I qualified for carrier landing aboard the USS Cabot and USS Wright. I first saw action in the Korean War on August 29, 1951,as an escort for a photo reconnaissance plane over Songjin. Five days later, I was shot down for the only time. While making a low bombing run at about 350 mph (560 km/h) in my F9F Panther, My plane was hit by anti-aircraft gunfire. The plane took a nose dive, and sliced through a cable strung about 500 ft (150 m) up across the valley by the North Koreans. This sheared off an estimated six feet (2 m) of its right wing. I was able to fly the plane back to friendly territory, but could not land the plane safely due to the loss of the aileron, which left ejection as his only option. I planned to eject over water and await rescue by navy helicopters, so I flew to an airfield near Pohang. Instead of a water rescue, winds forced his ejection seat back over land. Armstrong was picked up by a jeep driven by a roommate from flight school. Over Korea, I flew 78 missions for a total of 121 hours in the air, most of which was in January 1952. I received the Air Medal for 20 combat missions, a Gold Star for the next 20, and the Korean Service Medal and Engagement Star. I was chosen first to make a small step with a golf club in hand because I was because co-workers were buzzing about me not having as big of ego as on of the rest of the crew. In the fall of 1979, I was working at my farm near Lebanon, Ohio. As I jumped off of the back of his grain truck, my wedding ring caught in the wheel, tearing off my ring finger. I calmly collected the severed digit, packed it in ice, and managed to have it reattached by microsurgeons at the Jewish Hospital in Louisville, Kentucky. Known for small steps and giant leaps, Who Am I?

Yesterday's answers. The liquid inside young coconuts be used as a substitute for plasman. Although some say this is a myth Donkeys have been said to kill more people annually than plane crashes or shark attacks. Oak trees should be fifty years or older before producing acorns? Wrigley Spearmint gum was the first product to have a bar code. The King of Hearts is the only king not to have a moustache in a regular deck of playing cards. Venus is the only that rotates clockwise. Walt Disney was afraid mice. Pearls dissolve if you put them in vinegar? Turtles can breath through their butts.

Hope this day is a great day for you and you know who you are! Anything exciting going on today in your neck of the woods?