May 19 1981
From The Space Library
Some 40 astronauts were on hand at the White House as President Reagan awarded John W. Young and Robert Crippen, the crew of Space Shuttle Columbia's first flight, the Distinguished Service Medal. Young also received a Space Medal of Honor for his five spaceflights in two decades as an astronaut.
The guest list of 160 included present and former space officials and astronauts, including six of the original Mercury seven: Alan B. Shepard, first American in space; John H. Glenn, Jr., first American to orbit the Earth; L. Gordon Cooper, M. Scott Carpenter, Walter M. Schirra, and Donald K. Slayton. (Virgil I. Grissom, the seventh, had died 1.4 years ago in a launchpad fire.) The group included the crew of Apollo 8 that orbited the Moon at Christmas in 1968: Frank Borman, James A. Lovell, Jr., and William A. Anders. Also on hand were the Apollo 11 moon walkers, Neil A. Armstrong and Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr., and the third pilot on their mission, Michael Collins. This was the first time so many former astronauts from the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, and Skylab projects had come together. They did so at the invitation of the president to honor the reusable Shuttle, most recent U.S. space effort, and the men who flew it into orbit for the first time last month.
The president described the Shuttle as "the world's first true Space Transportation System," saying it would affect American life in both subtle and dramatic ways, "bringing energy and excitement to our national reserve." The Columbia crewmen presented the president and vice president with American flags they had carried on the Shuttle's first flight. They also gave the president a gold spaceflight jacket with the presidential seal, and Reagan responded: "You won't mind if I only wear this in Earth's atmosphere." Reagan also awarded the presidential citizen's medal to Dr. Alan M. Lovelace, acting head of NASA, who had been in charge of the Shuttle's first flight. Lovelace was the fourth recipient of the medal, established in 1969. (Text, Wh Hs remarks, May 19/81; NASA Releases 8170, 8171 NY Times, May 20/81, A-22, W Post, May 20/81, A-2; W Star, May 20/81, A-3)
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