I was there from the Golden Age
of Aviation to the Space Age
by George D.
In the late 1930s, I was “shaping up” in various aircraft manufacturer
employment lines while working as a night watchman at Paramount Studios in
Burbank, California. On February 28, 1939, Lockheed’s winged star became my
lodestar.
Lockheed played a key role in my home life. In 1940, I met my future
wife, Margaret Harris, when we both worked in spare parts sales. My
children—Bonnie, Gary and Marsha—were all born in Dayton, Ohio, when I was
assigned at Wright Field.
Wright Field and Lockheed also played a part in a remarkable experience
for me in 1943. Lockheed sponsored a photo opportunity on the tarmac at Wright
Field, and I saw Orville Wright peering out the pilot’s window of a C-69
military Constellation!
My career developed through field offices, soared through the aircraft
industry’s mass production Golden Age and flew into the 1960s Space Age era.
After 35 years, I retired from Lockheed in 1974. But I’ve never forgotten the
thrill of the projects I worked on—the B-47 joint modernization programs
involving Lockheed with Douglas and Boeing; the 1957 United States Air Force
X-7 Ram Jet test vehicles and Q-5 Drones and the United States advanced
satellite reconnaissance satellite system of the 1960s and 1970s.
Now, revisiting those epic times makes me feel proud to having been
part of aerospace history. I am grateful for my long and productive career at
the core of a great company. I am glad I followed that lodestar.
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| I met Margaret at Lockheed! |
