About
Astronaut who flew on the Apollo 7 mission, which was the first manned flight to the moon. He was a recipient of the NASA Distinguished Service Medal. He was the author of the book The All-American Boys, which was released in 1977.
Before Fame
He completed work for a Ph.D. in physics but failed to complete his thesis, instead becoming a researcher for NASA.
Trivia
He was in the backup crew for Apollo 1, a shuttle that exploded before takeoff. In 2018, he was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame.
Family Life
He was born in the town of Creston.
Associated With
Unlike Fred Haise and most of the other NASA pilots, he was a civilian.
