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.
