Alan Shepard

He secretly got engaged to Louise Brewer in 1944, while still in the ‘Naval Academy.’ They decided to get married a year later but could not spend much time together due to his active service with the ‘US Navy.’ However, he made sure to keep in touch with her throughout the war. After the war, they had two children named Laura and Julie.

Louise’s sister, who died in 1956, left behind a daughter named Judith Williams, whom they raised and renamed Alice. Although Shepard was rumored to have had many affairs, his wife did not confront him and the couple lived a normal life. They later had six grandchildren.

In late 1963, he was diagnosed with Ménière’s disease, an ailment that caused bouts of extreme dizziness and nausea, due to which he had to be put off flying. He also had to be operated for thyroid, which was a setback to his active career as an astronaut.

He was born Alan Bartlett Shepard Jr., on November 18, 1923, in Derry, New Hampshire, US. His father, Alan B Shepard Sr., worked at the ‘Derry National Bank’ and was part of the ‘National Guard.’ He was with the ‘American Expeditionary Force’ in France during World War II. His mother, Pauline Renza Shepard, was a homemaker. He had a sister named Pauline, who was also known as Polly.

Shepard was a brilliant student in school. He skipped the sixth grade while studying in ‘Adams School’ and then skipped the eighth grade in ‘Oak Street School.’ He went on to complete his schooling privately from the ‘Pinkerton Academy’ in Derry.

While in school, he was fascinated by planes and created model planes. He often cycled to ‘Manchester Airfield’ to do odd jobs in exchange for occasional rides and informal flying lessons.

He passed the entrance exam of the ‘United States Naval Academy’ in 1940 but was underage. He spent a year at the ‘Admiral Farragut Academy’ before finally joining the ‘Naval Academy’ in 1941. There, he won several prizes for swimming and sailing. He graduated as an ensign in June 1944 and received a BS degree from the ‘United States Naval Academy.’

Shepard started his naval service in August 1944, on the destroyer ‘USS Cogswell,’ which was on active service in the Pacific Ocean. He was assigned the task of a gunnery officer and was responsible for operating the ship’s 20 mm and 40 mm guns against Japanese “kamikazes.” This was to give him an exposure to the ship before he started flying.

He started his flight training at the ‘Naval Air Station Corpus Christi’ in Texas in January 1946 and later went for advanced training at the ‘Naval Air Station Pensacola’ in Florida. He finally earned his naval aviator wings after six perfect landings on ‘USS Saipan’ in 1947.

He joined the ‘Fighter Squadron 42’ (VF-42) to fly the ‘Vought F4U Corsair’ on his first assignment from the ‘Naval Air Station Norfolk’ in Virginia and embarked on his first cruise, in the Caribbean region, on ‘Franklin D Roosevelt’ in 1948.

In 1950, he attended the ‘United States Naval Test Pilot School’ and subsequently conducted high-altitude tests to obtain information for in-flight refueling. His next assignment was with the ‘VF–193’ night-fighter squadron that was deployed for the Korean War.

After the war, he joined the ‘Naval War College’ at Newport, Rhode Island, from where he graduated in 1957 and joined the staff of the commander–in–chief of the ‘Atlantic Fleet.’

In 1994, he published a book titled ‘Moon Shot: The Inside Story of America’s Race to the Moon,’ which was made into a TV miniseries.