From Barnstorming to Baseball

Glenn L. Martin loved aviation and sports

by Nanette C.

My aunts told me stories that Glenn L. Martin would come to my grandfather’s (Wharton Drury’s) house to ask him to umpire Martin Bombers baseball games. My aunts told me what a big baseball fan Mr. Martin was! In fact, he helped form an organization called the All American Amateur Baseball Association (AAABA) to promote the sport.

My uncle told me that Mr. Martin asked the Darlington Maryland basketball recreational team to play the Martin Bombers in a pick-up game. Mr. Martin greeted all the Darlington players with a handshake and wished them well. After the Martin Bombers won by a significant amount, Mr. Martin shook the hands of all the players and stated they played a hard game and thanked them for playing. What a class act!

Glenn L. Martin and the Martin "Bombers"

The Dragon Lady

The Lockheed U-2 performed remarkably

by George P.

Our father, George E. Plambeck, was asked to join the U-2 program in August 1964.He was an instructor at Brooks Air Force Base in the high-altitude department. From 1964 to 1971, he was stationed at Edwards Air Force Base. Then in August 1971, he retired from the Air Force and was asked to move to northern California to join Lockheed, which was working with NASA on a joint project. Our father enjoyed the years he was with the U-2 program and I will always remember the pilots I met, including Jim Barnes, Chunky Webster and all the other men with whom my father was proud to serve.

I’m Celebrating Too!

Thank you, Lockheed Martin

by Mattie H.

I am so glad to be a part of Lockheed Martin's 100th anniversary. I have worked for the company for 34 years. I began working here on August 23, 1978, and have worked on aircraft (programs). I’ve been able to change my life and that of my family. I'm so proud to be a member of this great team!

Five Generations of Continuous Employment

The journey’s been grand for our family

by Lorraine B.

My grandfather, Mathias Remesch, lived in Hungary where he was a master cabinetmaker and business owner. He immigrated to the United States in 1905 and was employed by the Glenn L. Martin Company in Cleveland, Ohio. When the facility moved to Maryland, he set up the first tool room at Middle River. 

For five generations, my family has been fortunate to have continuous employment at Middle River, and it all began with Mathias (first generation). The lineage includes my parents, Frank and Violet Remesch (second generation); my brothers, Frank and Raymond Remesch, and myself (third generation); my daughter, Nancy, and her husband, William (fourth generation); and my granddaughter, Stephanie, who interned in 2009 (fifth generation).

Yes, I was part of the 100-year history of the Glenn L. Martin Company and saw significant changes in the industry. Some of the legacy has been in the books, and some of it is not written. I witnessed the manual typewriter and adding machine changing to the computer age and the thousands of single machines in the shop changing to a single N/C programmed machine doing 50 operations. Talks about dress-down day, the guys in the shop were required to wear white shirts and ties (some wore aprons).

What a great company it was to work for and I conclude with my congratulations to Lockheed Martin on 100 years!

The Sky’s the Limit at Lockheed Martin

I’m excited about how we accelerate innovation

by Eric

My story with Lockheed Martin began as soon as I read Ben Rich's personal memoir, Skunk Works, at the age of 15. From that moment on, I knew that I wanted to work for Lockheed Martin, but I never really thought I would have the chance. After some training, I was hired in 2010 and worked as a structures assembler on the C-130J center wing box production team in Marietta, Georgia. I was part of the crew that built the most center wing boxes ever built in one year! I felt very proud to help build an aircraft with such rich history. Now I work as a structures assembler on the F-35 wing production team in Fort Worth, Texas. I help build the world's premier fifth generation stealth fighter. Dreams do come true, and I am excited about the future. I truly believe that the sky's the limit!

The future is bright at Lockheed Martin!

I’m a Proud F-22 Enthusiast

The Raptor is truly exquisite

by Varun K.

I have been in love with planes since I was two-years-old. But the plane I simply admire the most, is the F-22, created by none other than the great Lockheed Martin. When that plane flies, I just get the epic chills. It’s the most beautiful plane ever created and I have full faith that it will succeed in every possible way. I have always had a special attachment to the F-22 and, it is and always will be, the best in my eyes.

F-22: Dominating the skies and overwhelming the threat!

Lockheed at the Frontline

I spent my entire 20-year military career with the P-3 Orion

by Jeff F.

I am a retired United States Navy Sailor and spent my entire 20-year career with the P-3 Orion. I managed to, in one way or another, turn a wrench, fly on or release safe for flight for one hundred P-3s. I worked on almost every variation of the aircraft, including all three primary models, the P-3A, P-3B and P-3C. It was a great 20 years, a great aircraft and a great Lockheed product!

I am now employed by Lockheed Martin and am currently working the final assembly of the C-130J Super Hercules.

"It was a great 20 years, a great aircraft and a great Lockheed product!"

Thanks for the Memories

My dad had the most amazing job at Lockheed

by Victoria O.

Lockheed recruited my father, Peter Smith, in the late 1960s. He and my mother were born and raised in England, but came to America after he was offered a job with Lockheed as an aerospace engineer. I believe they were originally in California. Shortly before I was born, in 1970, he was transferred to Marietta, Georgia. He worked on the L10-11, if I remember correctly.

I remember that I always thought my dad had the most amazing job. His love affair with airplanes ran deep and he loved his job. He came to school when I was in fourth grade during a parent's day when parents would come to school and would talk about what they did for a living. I was mortified because I did not think my classmates would find his job as cool as I did. I could not have been more wrong. They were as enthralled as I was as we listened to him explain what it took to get one of those beautiful machines off the ground and soaring through the skies. He also brought little airplanes for the entire class. It really is one of the happiest memories I have from my childhood. He passed away in 1998. He loved his job and he loved Lockheed.

A Kiwi’s Adventure in America

My uncle worked at Lockheed Martin after World War II

by Maxine P.

My uncle, Arthur Carlinson, worked in the Lockheed factory near Los Angeles. He’d just arrived in the United States 1954 after working in London during World War II, where he worked with radios. I don’t know where or what he was doing, but I believe it was classified. He was born in New Zealand and traveled to England in March 1939 to ride in the motorcycle races on the Isle of Man. I wold love to know what he did while working at Lockheed. I believe it was the only job he had in the United States. He never returned to New Zealand, but I was lucky to meet him on two holidays to Los Angeles in 1967 and 1969.

My uncle was born in New Zealand and worked at Lockheed Martin after World War II.

Able to Perform Herculean Efforts

Thanks C-130 and C-130 team

by Sam A.

The year was circa 1991. I was president of the Air Force Association in southern Colorado (an independent, nonprofit, civilian aerospace organization that promotes public understanding of aerospace power and national defense). As part of the thanks for our support to the “Blue Suits,” we did what were called military affairs events. For an event held at Dobbins AFB, we flew from Peterson AFB in Colorado Springs to Dobbins. This was my first flight in a C-130 since my service in the US Army in 1971. It was the first flight that I did not exit the plane from the door while it was in the air, an odd feeling! And, this aircraft was the oldest in the Colorado Air Guard’s inventory. We landed during a tropical depression with about three inches of water on the runway. The pilot put the aircraft on the numbers!

We did many things that week at Dobbins and the Marietta facility. The most memorable was when we took delivery of a "D" model C-130 for the Colorado Air Guard. I was allowed to be part of the final walk down. The aircraft was perfect, even the sealant was perfect and uniform. The new aircraft and military affairs team flew back to Peterson AFB.

One of my final thoughts was that Lockheed Martin might be a cool place to work. I left Boeing in 2001 and started at Skunk Works® in Palmdale, California. Thanks C-130 team! 

It Was the Summer of 1969

I"ll never forget that day

by Paul P.

Picture this scenario in your mind's eye. It's the summer of 1969; I'm wading and fly-fishing a beautiful mountain stream in Colorado's Gunnison Mountains. It's a gorgeous day, bright sunshine, a fresh, wispy breeze blowing through the trees and the big trout are ready to eat. I'm slipping past a small lodge where many folks are in an area overlooking the stream. Wham, the hit of a huge brown trout and the fight is on. I play the fish for a while and bring it to net; it looks like a great dinner to me! I place it on a small stringer as I'm approached by an elderly gentleman from the lodge. He congratulates me on my catch and we chat, a thirteen-year-old boy and a man likely in his seventies. Turns out he owns the lodge. He asks where my family is and I say we're camping just upstream. He wants to know if we have anywhere to watch the Apollo landing on the moon that night and I tell him no. He invites me and my family down to the lodge to watch the Lunar Landing. The six of us head over that night and enjoyed a wonderful evening. What a great way to see and celebrate that milestone. Who would have known then, that 43 years later I'd be celebrating that very milestone, among others, while working for the company who helped put that vehicle on the moon.

Honored to Follow in My Dad’s Footsteps

Two generations have proudly worked on the powerful Aegis system

by Lawrence C.

My father, Gordon C Caldwell, worked at RCA Moorestown where Aegis was born. After the end of the Apollo program (RCA built the telemetry antennas for the LEM and moonbase), he helped lead the development of Aegis. First, he was PMO of CSEDS, working on the USS Norton Sound in 1972 and 1973. Finally, before his retirement, he was manager of the first PTC. I am proud to follow in his footsteps, having led the JABMD baseline through four successful flight missions as lead system engineer and now working as WCS technical lead for the latest generation of Aegis, Baseline 9E.

"My dad helped lead the development of Aegis." 
The word "Aegis" dates back to Greek mythology.

Bridging the Technological Divide

Lockheed Martin is training right-fit talent to defeat a new threat

by Vernon R.

I’ve seen innovation in action at Lockheed Martin Cyber University. Nearly four years ago, Lockheed Martin Information Systems & Global Solutions (IS&GS) recognized the need to build a cyber security workforce with the right skills and motivation to meet our Corporation’s evolving needs and to offer advanced solutions for our customers.

As a result, the Lockheed Martin Cyber University was launched in April 2009. I’m proud to say it is a world-class provider of cyber education, training and certification for security professionals. The university provides hands-on tactical and strategic security training for security executives and network and security professionals. In addition to traditional instructor-led training, the university provides online courses such as CISSP, Security+ and Certified Ethical Hacker. Since the university’s inception, over 1,600 employees have been trained and we’re aligning critical skills and jobs.

Grandfather of Naval Aerial Photography

I’m following in his footsteps

by Jeff R.

My grandfather, Walter L. Richardson, was the first aerial photographer for the Navy. He started his Navy career in 1911, as a ship’s cook on the Mississippi, and was pursuing photography as a hobby. The base commander of the newly formed Naval Air Arm in Pensacola, Florida, soon asked him to take official photographs. My grandfather saw great potential in taking photographs from airplanes and was credited with inventing the first handheld oblique camera for aerial photography. He established photographic schools at various Naval Air Stations and became known as the "Grandfather of Naval Aerial Photography."

One hundred years later, as his youngest grandchild, I develop software to process aerial photographs into 3D models for mission rehearsal and training. The software, called TacForge GeoSketch, is a product of Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. GeoSketch is used by Special Operations Forces Planning, Rehearsal and Execution Preparation (SOFPREP) to build mission rehearsal database for Special Operations Forces. GeoSketch was also used by the US Secret Service to build 3D databases of Tampa, Florida, and Charlotte, North Carolina, to support field agents at the 2012 political conventions.

My grandfather was a pioneer of aerial photography.