'Mediator Between Us, Heaven'
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THE DENVER POST Sunday, February 2, 2003 CO L U M B IA I S L O ST ★★ 7A ‘Mankind is led into the Astronauts darkness beyond our world by the inspiration were eager of discovery and the to fulfill longing to understand. Our journey into space dreams will go on. … Yet farther than we can see, there is CREW from Page 6A comfort and hope.’ ter graduating from high school in President Bush 1972, attended the Israel air force flight school. He became a fighter pilot and logged more than 4,000 He was also something of a cut- hours in various combat aircraft. up, those who knew him said. He fought in the Yom Kippur War “Willie had one of the best sens- of 1973 and in the Lebanon conflict es of humor of any kid you’d ever in 1982. seen,” said Ed Jarman, who taught He received a bachelor of sci- McCool’s high school chemistry ence degree in electronics and com- class. “He could rig up the most puter engineering from the Univer- comical ways of explaining scien- sity of Tel Aviv in 1987, and in tific principles.” 1994 he was promoted to colonel Jarman said McCool was highly and assigned to head the air dependable. “If I needed trash force’s weapons development and picked up on the school grounds, acquisition division. I’d make him a committee of one.” Ramon was selected as an astro- He had always been interested in naut candidate in 1997 as a result joining in the Navy, Jarman said; of a science agreement two years his father was a chief petty officer earlier between President Clinton in the Navy. and Shimon Peres, then the Israeli McCool graduated second in his foreign minister. He and his wife, 1983 class at the Naval Academy, Rona, moved to Houston in 1998 so where he ran with the cross-coun- he could begin training at Johnson Associated Press try track team. Space Center. He is also survived The commander of his mission, by four children ages 6 to 14. The crew of Columbia waves to a NASA television camera aboard the shuttle Jan. 20, four days after space shuttle’s launch. Rick D. Husband, was also from — Wareen Levy west Texas, and the area was in and A-6E Intruder attack aircraft “This picture said it all — he’s Michael Anderson went to school While Anderson was a role mod- mourning Saturday. DAVID M. BROWN and joined the test pilot school in black, he’s an astronaut — it was a in Cheney, a farm town next to the el in Spokane as one of the few The Columbia mission was Mc- 1995. The next year, he was select- huge motivator,” Watkins said in base. black astronauts, he would have Cool’s first trip into space. He was ed as an astronaut. an interview. Today, inside Cheney High stood out even if he had never gone an experienced test pilot, one of Acrobat, test pilot “Although as a boy I had Born on Christmas Day 1959 in School are a plaque and picture of to space, friends said. the Navy’s elite airmen, and had dreamed about going into space, I Plattsburgh, N.Y., the son of an Anderson, the astronaut who never “If you know what the character logged more than 2,800 flight pursued his dreams had completely forgotten about Air Force serviceman, Anderson wavered in his dreams. of an eagle is like, that is Michael hours. McCool was chosen by Trapeze artist. Stilt walker. Test that until one day I received a call dreamed of the cosmos, and space “Michael’s always been an amaz- Anderson,” said Freeman. “He was NASA for its astronaut program in pilot. Doctor. Capt. David M. from an astronaut, who suggested flight, from the time he got his ingly strong, focused guy,” said the an eagle among chickens.” 1996 and completed two years of Brown had a special blend of the that I should join the program,” first toy airplane at age 3. Rev. Freeman Simon, who has — Timothy Egan training. right stuff. Brown said in a speech last sum- He was a fan of “Star Trek,” and known the family for about 25 He was scheduled for a shuttle mer. “So today, the primary mes- years, and attended the same “He was one of those guys who early on, he memorized the names mission in June 2001, but it was sage I deliver to groups to which I of most of the American astro- church with them. “He is strange WILLIAM C. McCOOL delayed. filled all the squares to be where talk is: Never underestimate your- in one respect: He was the guy who he was,” said Bob Ryan, another nauts. He watched the moon land- Asked then by The Lubbock Ava- self. Go after those dreams.” ing when he was a 9, and the ex- always seemed to know what he lanche-Journal if the scratched pilot-doctor who knew Brown from wanted, and could translate his Pilot’s steadiness, — Jeffery Gettlemen citement never left him, he said mission troubled him, he was opti- a flight surgeons’ organization. thinking into action.” later. mistic. “But he was quiet about it. You’d After Cheney High School, Ander- humor well-known never hear Dave beating his own MICHAEL P. ANDERSON He never doubted he would be an “From a rookie point of view, astronaut. son got a bachelor of science de- When Cmdr. William C. McCool drum.” gree in physics and astronomy at the delays are probably good,” he Brown, 46, grew up in Arlington, Astronaut an ‘eagle’ “I can’t remember ever thinking of the Navy, the pilot of space shut- said. “I feel like going through the that I couldn’t do it,” Anderson the University of Washington in Se- tle Columbia, took off on Jan. 16, Va. He was a star gymnast on the attle. training flow essentially a second parallel bars at Yorktown High who never wavered said in an interview with the Uni- he carried a piece of his hometown time a little less like a rookie and He earned a master’s degree in with him: a spirit towel for the School and went on to earn a letter Whenever Happy Watkins want- versity of Washington alumni news- a little bit more like a veteran.” physics in 1990 at Creighton Uni- Coronado Mustangs, his high at William and Mary. He also ed to inspire black children in Spo- letter in 1998. “I never had any se- In the same interview he said versity. school football team in Lubbock, joined the circus, performing as an kane, Wash., an overwhelmingly rious doubts about it. It was just a one of the hardest parts of his mis- In 1994, while stationed at Platts- Texas. acrobat, unicyclist and stilt walk- white city, he would reach into his matter of when.” burgh Air Force Base, he was cho- sion would be working on a split- er, all the while earning top marks wallet and pull out an autographed But on the eve of his last flight, sen for the shuttle program, one of McCool, 41, had always been a duty around-the-clock schedule: in biology. picture of Lt. Col. Michael P. Anderson did talk about the risk of 19 candidates selected that year football fan. He told The Associat- half of the shuttle crew members He attended Eastern Virginia Anderson of the Air Force, the space flight. from among 2,962 applicants. ed Press in an interview that he worked while the other half slept. Medical School and joined the black astronaut who grew up in “There’s always that unknown,” He logged more than 211 hours was rooting for the Oakland Raid- “I think it’s going to be very diffi- Navy as soon as he finished his in- their town and died on space shut- he said to reporters just before the in space, according to NASA. ers in last Sunday’s Super Bowl, cult,” he said. “That’s why we’re ternship. He was sent to a military tle Columbia on Saturday. Columbia lifted off on Jan. 16. He was on the shuttle-Mir dock- having grown up in San Diego. focusing now in advance on doing hospital in Alaska, and then served “These kids, some of them have Anderson’s parents, Bobbie and ing mission in 1998, when the crew He was an athlete — a runner, everything very efficiently on on an aircraft carrier. In 1988, no hope, and their eyes would light Barbara Anderson, live in Spo- transferred more than 9,000 swimmer and a back-country time. We hope we can do whatever Brown was selected for pilot train- up when they saw this picture,” kane. The family moved to the pounds of scientific equipment and camper — and played the guitar measures are necessary to get us ing, a rarity for Navy doctors. He said Watkins, who taught young area about 30 years ago, friends other hardware from Endeavour and chess. He was even known to into bed.” graduated No. 1 in his naval avia- Michael Anderson in Sunday school said, because Bobbie Anderson was to the Russian space station. play chess via e-mail with crew McCool was married and had tion class. at Morning Star Baptist Church in assigned to Fairchild Air Force He was married to the former members of the international three sons. He flew F-18 Hornet jet fighters Spokane. Base about 25 miles from Spokane. Sandra Lynn Hawkins. space station. — Alan Feuer DENVER LIVES TOUCHED ISRAEL MOURNS HERO ‘Mediator Jewish astronaut carried between the dreams of his nation By James Bennet A brother-in-law of Ramon The New York Times spoke briefly on the radio Satur- us, heaven’ day, but he was crying so hard that MODIIN, Israel — He was the newest hero of a country yearning the interview was abandoned.