Around the World with Lockheed Martin

I'm proud of my 50-year association

by Thomas B.

As a 36-year Lockheed Martin Corporation career retiree, it seems my lifetime and family have been influenced by travel. Growing up as a United States Army dependent, I spent years traveling and living in South Korea, China and Japan. My own Army duty took me to Germany, where I first encountered Martin Marietta personnel. With a Martin Letter of Recommendation, I left the military and joined Martin in Orlando, only to be assigned to Korea as a field service rep. There I met the love of my life, leading to our marriage. The next 36 years took our family to assignments, both within the United States and outside, to the Middle East, Far East, Europe and Canada. Lockheed Martin not only favorably impacted my life, but also influenced our children’s lives as well. My 50 years with Lockheed Martin (36 active and 14 retired) only covers half of the Lockheed Martin Centennial period, but I am proud of the company, its people and its achievements during my life’s service. 

The Soaring Eagle

Worldwide, our aircraft raise the bar

by Joseph K.

One of Lockheed Martin's legacy companies, General Dynamics Fort Worth Division (GDFW), was awarded a contract in the mid-1980s to assist Aero Industry Development Center (AIDC), a quasi-government entity in Taiwan, in building a high-performance fighter, literally from the ground up. I was a senior engineering specialist (avionics) on the program for nine years, including over three years onsite in Taichung. The program continued in 1992 after Lockheed bought GDFW. The airplane is known as the Indigenous Defensive Fighter (IDF), the Soaring Eagle. The program took place because the United States would not sell F-16 Fighting Falcons to Taiwan in those years.

“Rosy the Riveter”

Perhaps my father-in-law was the inspiration behind the icon

by Daryl C.

I retired from Lockheed Martin Skunk Works in 2007 after 40 years of service. My parents and my sister also had long careers with Lockheed Martin, but the story I want to tell is about my father-in-law Hyman Rosenthal. He started working for Lockheed in Burbank in 1941 and retired in 1973. He used to tell a story around the dinner table about how he believed he was the original “Rosy the Riveter.” His friends at work always called him Rosy and in the early 1940s, one of the jobs he performed was riveting. He recalled one day a reporter from one of the news magazines (Life, Look – he wasn’t sure which one) was touring the factory. While the reporter was in the area, one of Rosy’s coworkers called out, “Hey Rosy.” Shortly after that incident Rosie the Riveter, a woman, started turning up in magazines and posters and became the symbol for women supporting the war effort. To his dying day in 2007, he always believed that he was the inspiration for "Rosie the Riveter." Rosy spent 32 years with Lockheed Martin ending his career at Lockheed's Rye Canyon Research, north of Los Angeles. He enjoyed 34 years of retirement before passing at the age of 99 years.

"Rosy" inspired us all!

Strategic Reconnaissance

I worked on America’s first satellite intelligence program

by Corwin L.

I supported the system test of Thor-Agena on the Discoverer pad at Vandenberg Air Force Base. The classified program was Corona, which I learned later when it was declassified.

The first test launches for Corona/Discoverer were in 1959.

F-35: Pinnacle of Fighter Technology

I did the first “power-on”

by Paul P.

I was involved with the first production the F-35 and did the first “power-on.” My good friend, Johnny Zaskoda, was asked, but he felt that I was entitled to do the power-on because of my seniority. Thanks Johnny!

I am also proud to say that my son, Paul, was employed as a captain with Lockheed Martin’s security department when he retired from the Air Force, having served our nation for 23 years.

The World’s First Big Space Station

My work was a labor of love

by Robert H.

I worked on the Skylab program in the early 1970s at the Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas. I wrote on-orbit crew procedures into a flight data file, which was flown onboard the Apollo capsule for each mission. This was the most fantastic labor of love in my career at Lockheed Martin, among other places I worked for them.

The “Renaissance” Aircraft

It's still serving faithfully after 50 years

by Eric A.

As a young Navy enlisted aircrewman, I remember my first flight on the P-3C Orion. It was the first of many flights during my career on an aircraft that I come to respect and trust. Designed to be a sub hunter during the Cold War, the P-3C proved to be a multi-mission aircraft before it became fashionable—maritime patrol, search and rescue platform, air ambulance, surface targeting and control. After retiring from the Navy in 2005, I was proud to join the Lockheed Martin team. Twenty years and 2,500 flight hours later, my admiration for this aircraft has not diminished.

My crew and I respected and trusted the P-3C Orion!