Saturday, February 23, 2013

On Meeting Kelly Johnson

I shook the hand of an American icon
by Jack W.

I had worked 11 years down the road at The Walt Disney Company. It was 1980, my first year at Lockheed, Burbank, and Kelly Johnson was the featured speaker at our management club meeting. After his comments, everyone went up meet him. As I shook his hand, I mentioned that I was from Disney and just wanted to shake the hand of an American icon. I mentioned that, like Walt Disney, he had changed the world. His grip tightened, as he replied, “Thank you son. I've been called most everything, but I've never been called that. Thank you.”

Truly, he was not only an aviation genius, but a man equal to all the people around him.