Jim Lovell - Navy pilot, Astronaut, Eagle Scout (1928-2025)

[RememberSchiff]

"Forty-one of those selected as NASA’s career astronauts are Eagle Scouts. Some have become legends, like Neil Armstrong, the first man to land a spacecraft on another world, and Jim Lovell, the commander of the ill-fated Apollo 13 mission who led his crew safely back to Earth."

https://www1.grc.nasa.gov/space/education-outreach/nasa-bsa-path-to-exploration/astronauts-who-were-youth-in-the-bsa/

Jim Lovell: The Eagle Scout That Saved Apollo 13  By Alvin Townley (also an Eagle Scout)

That old Scout motto, ‘Be Prepared,’ was very apropos in my situation,” a retired Captain Jim Lovell mused years later. “Being prepared means being knowledgeable about what you’re working with and what you’re doing, what the odds are, and how you can get out of certain situations. For instance, we never trained for more than single-point failures in the space program because if we trained for every possible failure that could go wrong, we’d still be down there waiting for the first takeoff.

His Scoutmaster placed him in charge of a group of Scouts and tasked him with assembling the boys, pitching tents, cooking, and generally running the group. The Scoutmaster left Jim Lovell to succeed or fail on his own. He quickly learned about self-sufficiency.

Now that our conversation had arrived back at Scouting, we mused together about the 180 Scouts who have served in the astronaut corps, including 40 Eagles. “There’s a lot of commonality between Scouting, astronauts, and spaceflight,” observed the veteran astronaut and past president of the National Eagle Scout Association. “That’s why a lot of Scouts gyrate in that direction. I think that Scouting is also the pursuit of exploration. Scouts are people who want to see things, who are curious, who are always wanting to look over the next horizon. That’s why they go to camp; to learn things, to go hiking, and to be active. This is [sic] the same criteria, the same elements that make up astronauts. They sort of live on the edge. They are very curious, they want to explore.”

Source:

https://www.thehistoryreader.com/historical-figures/jim-lovell/

 

Scout Salute and Farewell.

Edited Friday at 07:50 PM by RememberSchiff

[RememberSchiff]

From Google AI Overview

Jim Lovell, the astronaut famous for commanding the Apollo 13 mission, was also a dedicated Boy Scout who achieved the highest rank of Eagle Scout. He was actively involved in Scouting, serving as lodge treasurer for Mikano Lodge in Milwaukee. Lovell's Scouting background is highlighted by his achievement of Eagle Scout and his later involvement with the Order of the Arrow, where he was an Arrowman.

Here's a more detailed look at Jim Lovell's Scouting journey:

• Eagle Scout:

  Jim Lovell achieved the Eagle Scout rank, the highest advancement award in Boy Scouts, according to the National Eagle Scout Association.

• Order of the Arrow:

  He was an Arrowman, a member of the Order of the Arrow, which is an honor society within the Boy Scouts of America.
• Mikano Lodge:

  Lovell served as the lodge treasurer for Mikano Lodge in Milwaukee.
• Space Exploration:

  Lovell's dedication to Scouting extended to his time as an astronaut. He even took a Mikano Lodge flap with him on the Apollo 8 mission, which orbited the moon. He had hoped to take one to the lunar surface on Apollo 13, but the mission was aborted.
• National Recognition:

  Lovell received the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award in 1990, according to the National Eagle Scout Association and served as President of the National Eagle Scout Association (NESA) in the mid-1990s. 

  Inspiration:
• Lovell's Scouting background has been highlighted as an example of how the skills and values instilled through Scouting can contribute to success in other fields, including space exploration, according to NASA

[RememberSchiff]

Boy Scout commercial featuring Astronaut Jim Lovell.