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Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipient James Lovell
JAMES ARTHUR LOVELL, JR.
Awarded by
President Richard M. Nixon
April 18, 1970
Adversity brings out the character of a man. Confronted suddenly and unexpectedly with grave peril in the far reaches of space, he demonstrated a calm courage and quiet heroism that stand as an example to men everywhere. His safe return is a triumph of the human spirit--of those special qualities of man himself we rely on when machines fail, and that we rely on also for those things that machines cannot do.
From the start, the exploration of space has been hazardous adventure. The voyage of Apollo 13 dramatized its risks. The men of Apollo 13, by their poise and skill under the most intense kind of pressure, epitomized the character that accepts danger and surmounts it. Theirs is the spirit that built America. With gratitude and admiration, America salutes their spirit and their achievement.
NAME: James A. Lovell (Captain, USN Retired) NASA Astronaut PERSONAL DATA: Born March 25, 1928, Cleveland, Ohio. EDUCATION: University of Wisconsin; United States Naval Academy, bachelor of science, 1952; Test Pilot School, NATC, Patuxent River, Maryland, 1958; Aviation Safety School, University of Southern California, 1961; Advanced Management Program, Harvard Business School, 1971; and honorary doctorates from Rockhurst College, Illinois Wesleyan University, Western Michigan University, and Mary Hardin Baylor College. BUSINESS AFFILIATION: Group Vice President, Centel Corporation (Business Communications Group) MARITAL STATUS: Married to the former Marilyn Gerlach, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. CHILDREN: Barbara L., October 13, 1953; James A., February 15, 1955; Susan K., July 14, 1958; Jeffrey C., January 14, 1966. PREVIOUS ASSIGNMENT: During his Naval career he has had numerous aviator assignments, including a four-year tour as a test pilot at the Naval Air Test Center, Patuxent River, Maryland.
While there he served as Program Manager for the F4H "Phantom" Fighter. A graduate of the Aviation Safety School of the University of Southern California, he also served as Safety Engineer with the Fighter Squadron 101 at the Naval Air Station, Oceana, Virginia.
He has logged more than 5,000 hours flying time, including more than 3,500 hours in jet aircraft. Captain Lovell was selected as an Astronaut by NASA in September 1962. He has since served as backup pilot for the Gemini 4 flight and backup Commander for the Gemini 9 flight, as well as backup Commander to Neil Armstrong for the Apollo 11 lunar landing mission.
On December 4, 1965, he and Frank Borman were launched into space on the history making Gemini 7 mission. The flight lasted 330 hours and 35 minutes and included the first rendezvous of two manned maneuverable spacecraft.
The Gemini 12 mission, commanded by Lovell with Pilot Edwin Aldrin, began on November 11, 1966. This four-day, 59 revolution flight brought the Gemini program to a successful close.
Lovell served as Command Module Pilot and Navigator on the epic six-day journey of Apollo 8, man's maiden voyage to the moon, December 21-Z7, 1968. Apollo 8 was the first manned spacecraft to be lifted into near-earth orbit by a 7-1/2 million pound thrust Saturn V launch vehicle; and Lovell and fellow crewmen, Frank Borman and William A. Anders, became the first humans to leave the Earth's gravitational influence.
He completed his fourth mission as Spacecraft Commander of the Apollo 13 flight, April 11-17, 1970, and became the first man to journey twice to the moon. Apollo 13 was programmed for ten days; however, the original flight plan was modified en route to the moon due to a failure of the Apollo 13 Service Module cryogenic oxygen system. Lovell and fellow crewmen, John L. Swigert and Fred W. Haise, working closely with Houston ground controllers, converted their lunar module Aquarius into an effective lifeboat. Their emergency activation and operation of lunar module systems conserved both electrical power and water in sufficient supply to assure their safety and survival while in space and for the return to earth.
Captain Lovell held the record for time in space with a total of 715 hours and 5 minutes until surpassed by the Skylab flights.
On March 1, 1973, Captain Lovell retired from the Navy and from the Space Program to join Bay-Houston Towing Company in Houston, Texas. Bay-Houston Towing Company is a diversified company involved in harbor and coastwise towing, mining, and marketing of peat products for the lawn and garden industry, and ranching. He was promoted to the position of President and Chief Executive Officer on March 1, 1975. BUSINESS BACKGROUND: On January 1, 1977, Captain Lovell became president of Fisk Telephone Systems, Inc., in Houston, Texas (marketing business communications equipment) in the southwestern United States. On January 1, 1981, he was appointed Group Vice President, Business Communications Systems, a Centel Corporation. He retired from Centel Corporation as Executive Vice President and member of the Board of Directors on January 1, 1991. Currently, (2002), Lovell is president of Lovell Communications, a business devoted to disseminating information about the United States Space Program. SPECIAL ASSIGNMENT: President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed Captain Lovell as his consultant for Physical Fitness and Sports in June, 1967. When the Physical Fitness Council was revised under President Nixon in 1970, Captain Lovell was assigned the additional duty of Chairman of the Council. After eleven years of performing his dual role with the Council, he relinquished these positions in 1978. However, he is still a Consultant to the Council and is presently assisting the Council in achieving its objective of making all citizens aware of the importance of being physically fit. The office of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports is located in Washington, D.C. DIRECTORSHIPS: Federal Signal Corporation, Chicago Astronautics Corporation of America Milwaukee. AFFILIATIONS: Board of Directors of the North American Telephone Association; Trustee of the National Space Institute; Associate Fellow of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots; member Explorers Club; Fellow American Astronautical Society; Advisory Board, Health and Tennis Corporation of America; Board, Houstonian Fitness Center in Houston; Association of Physical Fitness Centers, Washington, D.C.; Executive Board, Sam Houston Area Boy Scouts of America. SPECIAL HONORS: Eagle Scout; Sam Houston Area Council 1976 Distinguished Eagle Scout Award; Presidential Medal of Freedom , 1970; NASA Distinguished Service Medal; two NASA Exceptional Service Medals; the Navy Astronauts Wings; the Navy Distinguished Service Medal; two Navy Distinguished Flying Crosses; 1967 FAI De Laval and Gold Space Medals (Athens, Greece); the American Academy of Achievement Golden Plate Award; City of New York Gold Medal in 1969; City of Houston Medal for Valor in 1969; the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Special Trustees Award, 1969; the Institute of Navigation Award, 1969; the University of Wisconsin's Distinguished Alumni Service Award, 1970; corecipient of the American Astronautical Society Flight Achievement Awards, 1966 and 1968; the Harmon International Trophy, 1966, 1967 and 1969; the Robert H. Goddard Memorial Trophy, 1969; the H. H. Arnold Trophy, 1969; General Thomas D. White USAF Space Trophy, 1969; Robert J. Collier Trophy, 1968; Henry G. Bennett Distinguished Service Award; and the AIAA Haley Astronautics Award, 1970.
Astronaut James A. Lovell receives the Congressional Space Medal of Honor from President Clinton as actor Tom Hanks and his son Colin Hanks look on. July 26 1995
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Medal History
