I WAS THERE - part 10 (final)
I found myself in hot water at every turn. My reports were left
untyped for days. Getting anything done required an argument
followed by another meeting with the Chief of Industrial
Relations. Each meeting with him gave others more confidence in
their refusal to give me support. Their refusals led to more
meetings with my boss. The meetings with my boss turned in to
reprimands in my personnel folder.
Within four months I was on probation. My San Diego bosses, Jack
Garrison and Kip Williams were calling me to get my side of the
story. I did not give it to them. I kept saying everything was
fine and there were no major problems. I was applying a lesson
learned at Altus. It was the right lesson at the wrong time.
Back in 1960 Jack Garrison had come down to Altus. I had a list of
complaints about my boss. He listened and then gave me a serious
lecture on loyalty. He said that Nolan had given me an excellent
review and was responsible for the support I had received during
the flap with Corp Of Engineers.
I decided then, that I would never criticize a supervisor, behind
his back, or to higher authority, again. So San Diego got basic
reports and no complaints from me. They, of course, knew the
situation from my supervisors point of view, so not speaking up
added to the his credibility.
I was miserable at the Cape. But there were more important
matters. On Complex 14 our people were preparing an Atlas for
launch. It was the highest risk area for Astronautics personal. I
would inspect all Astro. areas. But I was going spend a lot of
time on 14, regardless of who, my boss thought, had the
responsibility. In Cheyenne and Altus I paid very little attention
to being a "good employee." I paid a lot of attention to being a
good safety man.
Gordon Cooper was getting ready to go. I went up to the white room
daily. There, I would often stand next to Alan Sheperd who was
Cooper's back up. I would listen to the chatter and chime in a
bit. I was accepted out on 14. If I was there, I was part of the
team.
Alan Sheperd had a new cadillac and Gordo had a Corvette. They all
got their cars from G.M Dealer, Jim Rathman. Rathman was the
professional driver, who had once won a Indianapolis 500. Alan and
Gordon liked to race each other from the pad to Henri Landiworth's
Holiday Inn. That was the motel most frequented by the Mercury
Astronauts. Coco Beach Police looked the other way. It was fun to
watch and know I wasn't the only kid on the pad.
They made regular trips away from the Cape in their assigned
service jet fighters. When they flew back from those trips they
announced their return by coming over the Cape inverted at about
three hundred feet altitude. We all went outside our office
buildings to wave them a big welcome back.
Of course, Mercury wasn't the only test site at the Cape. Right
next to us was the Gemini stand. Martin Marietta was testing Titan
for that program. They had a launch going one afternoon. The
missile climbed up about one thousand feet and blew up. A great
purple red cloud started to sink back toward the ground. We on 14
were ordered to button up the launch building and stay inside. The
blockhouse went on internal air and we sat it out for over an
hour, waiting for that cloud to dissipate. The titan was fueled by
with dimethylhydrozine. A nasty and highly toxic chemical.
One night I was returning to Coco Beach from Coco on the causeway
headed east. To my left and several miles away was the Cape. I saw
a trail of flame signifying a launch. Within a few moments the
entire area was lit up like a thousand high powered floodlights
had been turned on. It was very eerie. A minute man had exploded
on launch. Gigantic pieces of missile and solid propellant were
strewn about the pad. The solid propellant burned like a million
sparklers going of at once, casting a brilliant artificial light
about the Cape.
The day was quickly approaching for the Cooper launch. I was
spending my time at Complex 14 looking for problems. I noted in a
report that the elevator used to move the Astronaut from ground
level to the capsule had only one cable and did not appear to have
any safety mechanism or backup if that cable failed. It was a
legitimate concern.
I turned this report in at once and soon got a call from my Chief
of Industrial Relations. When I arrived at his office he had the
report on his desk. I received a fifteen minute chewing about
being overly interested in 14 and sticking my nose into areas that
were not my responsibility. The launch was in a few days. He
banned me from the site.
I have a photograph taken by my wife. It is 8:04 AM May 15th,
1963. I am standing, dressed in a white shirt and tie, on the
beach, a mile away from the Cape. I am pointing up, to the last
Mercury-Atlas, MA-9, Faith 7 as it rises from Complex 14 with
Gordon Cooper aboard. I have a big smile on my face. My smile is
for the camera. This page of my story could be titled, I Was
Almost There!
Later I received a pocket size copy of the Test Conductors manual
for that flight. It is dated May 17,1963 and reads " Thanks for
your assistance on Faith 7" signed Cal Fowler, Test Conductor. Cal
had no idea how much that meant to me. I was far more accepted on
Complex 14 than among my peers and supervisor in the Industrial
Relations office.
The important thing is that MA-9, Faith 7 was successful. MA-9
flew 22.5 orbits over a 34:19:49 period. There was a complete loss
of power in the automated re-entry system, and loss of all
altitude readings, which forced Cooper to make the first
completely manual re-entry. He landed within four miles of the
recovery ship, Kearsarge.
Shortly thereafter my Chief of Industrial Relations called me in
to his office. Ken McKabe was there. He asked me to spend some
time with Ken, briefing him on the various state of affairs in
Safety. He explained that he had received approval to increase the
size of the safety dept and that Ken and I would be working
together.
I spent a week working with Ken. Ken was an interesting and
likeable man. At the end of a week I received another call to see
my boss. He quickly reviewed my past six months performance. He
fired me and then escorted me around to turn in my badge, pick up
my final check and get off the Cape. Ken McKabe was my
replacement.
While I was working on the Cape I went to a joint Air Force, NASA,
Pan American safety meeting. There I met a Colonel Steel who was
the top Safety man for USAF at Patrick AFB. He had responsibility
for USAF Cape operations. He offered me a job with his Safety
team. It was a GS-12 government job.
I called him the next day an accepted his offer. He said he was
glad to have me and directed me to the GS applications office. I
filled out the various government forms. Colonel Steel was out of
the country for a meeting. After waiting a week I called to ask
when to report. I was referred back to the employment office.
They told me that I did not qualify for a GS-12 job. I was five
months short in total education and time on the job. I had four
and a half years in the program. Five were required. I said the
Colonel had already hired me. Employment explained that the Col.
couldn't hire anyone for a GS job. That was the employment office
responsibility. Calls to Colonel Steel, in Mexico, went
unreturned.
Darlene and I packed up and moved back to my home town of St.
Louis, Missouri. The great adventure was over. So was the money. I
was considered over paid, too young and over qualified for most
industrial safety jobs. I finally got a job as a investigator for
General Motors. I kept my resume in with all the aero-space
contractors. I never received an offer.
Jimmy Doolittle's biography is titled "I could never be so lucky
again." That sums up my recollections of the space flight program.
Historical portrayals of the voyage of Columbus to the New World
usually focus on Columbus, the major players, and his project.
There were many others who worked on the Columbus Program. Most
shared in only part of the adventure. Some may have died, some
were laid off. A few may have upset Columbus and were fired.
But they were there. They were the carpenters, laborers, sail
makers, clean-up men, and maybe... there was a kid, from a good
family. A kid who was wasting his life, getting into trouble,
drinking too much and had no direction in his life. A kid who
found his dream, when he had the opportunity to play a small part
on the Columbus project. I would understand and, identify with,
that kid.
During a "brief shining moment" in history, when Kennedy was
President, and mankind took its first steps toward the stars.
I was there.