Speaker and Meeting Recap:
Our speaker was Thomas D. Jones, PhD, a USAFA ‘77 distinguished graduate (top 50), astronaut, and author. He spoke about his interviews with and the book he co-authored about the Hell Hawks, the P-47 Thunderbolt pilots of the 365th Fighter Group, who flew interdiction missions supporting the D-Day invasion, and close air support missions in the Battle of the Bulge and in Germany. Tom is also the author of “Sky Walking: An Astronaut’s Memoir”. In addition, he holds a PhD in planetary sciences, flew on four space shuttle missions, led three space walks, and spent fifty-three days working and living in space. He has received the NASA Distinguished Service Medal, four NASA Space Flight Medals, the NASA Exceptional Service Award, the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal, and the Air Force Commendation Medal, is a member of Phi Beta Kappa, a member of the NASA Advisory Council, serves on the board of the Association of Space Explorers, and is a regular on-air contributor for Fox News Channel’s spaceflight coverage.
