Neil Armstrong At The Purdue University Gala Week Banquet May 1966

Astronauts on their bikes a thing. 

“Gus helped me, to no end, backing me up in Gemini as I backed him up in Gemini. We worked very closely on the Apollo flight. I was his next door neighbor and then I had to be the executor of his will. He was a very close friend to all of us.” -Wally Schirra

“I remember being impressed with Gus as an individual and as a pilot… Gus was willing to join the group and he pulled his weight in the boat. He was considered a great pilot, enthusiastic and competitive like the rest of us. I guess the thing I’ll remember the most about Gus was the sacrifice he made for the program… The human element and frailties come to the surface and we have a tragic combination of things, which took the life of our buddy.” -Alan Shepard

“I agree with everything everybody said about Gus. He was a good friend to all of us… Gus unfortunately had to sacrifice his life for one of those human errors that let us then step ahead to another level.” -John Glenn

“We’re kind of like a bunch of brothers. We’re quite close.” -Gordo Cooper

“Gus didn’t say a lot, but when he did speak, it was worth listening to… I think we all take the same chances. But we’re all subject to human frailty, if not our own, that of others… It was dangerous but it hadn’t hurt us so we kept doing it. That was dead wrong and it took that tragedy to make it safe. So complacency causes great difficulty, but the end result is that it leads to progress.” -Scott Carpenter

“We miss him.” -Deke Slayton

Someone is getting ready to take those nice “first American spacewalk” pictures. 

“Even among the astronauts, Ed White had always stood out; a strapping six-footer who had barely missed becoming an Olympic hurdler, he was known as one of the finest physical specimens in the Astronaut Office. And perhaps more than any astronaut except John Glenn, White subscribed to their ail-American image. In 1965, after he became the first American to walk in space, White easily wore the mantle of a national hero. There appeared to be no limit to how far he might go.” 

Andrew Chaikin, A Man on the Moon

Some of the Astronaut Air Force boys and girls during General McConnell’s visit to NASA, 1966. Wow, they clean up well.

Warning: This photo is BIG when clicked!

John Glenn

The Apollo 1 prime and backup crew at a press conference in Houston a few days before Christmas, 1966. With them is chief astronaut Deke Slayton.

(credit to the owner)

Ed White and Jim McDivitt meet with Lyndon B. Johnson at the White House following the flight of Gemini 4 - June 17, 1965

A collection of favorite Wally shots for his birthday!!!