Was one of the first second lieutenants assigned to the All-Weather Jet Night Fighters (F3D).
Flew 54 missions in Korea with VMF-513, over 60 percent of which were at night and in bad weather.
Selected by NASA in 1963 to be apart of the third group of astronauts.
Flew the first manned Apollo mission, Apollo 7, where he became the second Marine Corps Pilot to fly in space.
Made Chief of the Skylab Branch of the Astronaut Office; working on the design and development of five manned space modules, two different launch vehicles, and 65 major onboard scientific experiments.
Appointed as Chairman of the Texas Aerospace Commission.
Served for eight years with the Advisory Panel for the National Space Biomedical Research Institute, reviewing and approving medical experiments to be flown on the International Space Station.
Wrote many books including The All-American Boys, which is considered one of the best books ever written on the space program.
