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Curated playlist

Recipients of the Air Medal

  • George H. W. BushAfter being shot down in 1944, George H. W. Bush asked why he alone had been spared. Both of his crewmates died.
  • Jim LovellJim Lovell flew to the Moon twice and never set foot on it. His second trip, Apollo 13, nearly ended in disaster.
  • Clark GableA Warner Bros. executive once rejected Clark Gable because his ears were too big. He said Gable looked like an ape.
  • James StewartJames Stewart gave his Oscar to his father for the shop window.
  • Roger B. ChaffeeRoger Chaffee passed his Navy pilot's eye exam only because a doctor let him retake it the next morning.
  • James McDivittOn Gemini 4, James McDivitt had to force a jammed hatch latch back into place with his fingers.
  • Colin PowellOn the 5th of February 2003, Colin Powell addressed the United Nations Security Council. He told the council: "there can be no doubt that Saddam Hussein has biological weapons and the capability to rapidly produce more, many more." The…
  • Gus GrissomDoctors nearly cut Gus Grissom from astronaut selection because he had hay fever.
  • Buzz AldrinBuzz Aldrin's first words on the Moon were "Beautiful view." Years later he was selling used cars.
  • Neil ArmstrongNeil Armstrong's astronaut application came about a week late, until a colleague slipped it into the pile.
  • Wally SchirraAstronaut Wally Schirra refused Mission Control's request to wear helmets.
  • Douglas MacArthurDouglas MacArthur came up with his own field marshal title. Philippine President Quezon conferred it in 1936.
  • Allen Lawrence PopeAllen Lawrence Pope was carrying about 30 incriminating documents when Indonesian forces took him prisoner in May 1958. One of them was his own flight log. The papers turned a covert operation into a diplomatic crisis, and they deepened…
  • Deke SlaytonOne heart test grounded astronaut Deke Slayton in 1962. He then picked the crews who flew to the Moon.
  • Samuel C. PhillipsSamuel C. Phillips froze the Minuteman missile's design knowing its range was 1,000 miles short.
  • Ronald Evans (astronaut)Ronald Evans is the last person to orbit the Moon alone. He circled it 75 times while two crewmates walked below.

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