James A. McDivitt oral history (Doug Ward)

Johnson Space Center Oral History Project James A. McDivitt
29 June 1999 12-10
I took it up to the instructor of flight test—who was a full Colonel—and left it with his
secretary and asked her to have the Colonel sign it and ship it out right away because they
were waiting for it. About—and then I went back down to flight test operations.
By then it was about 7:30 or so. And I got a flight coming up. And so, I was in my—
in where my desk was. I was going to call it “an office.” It really wasn’t an office! But
anyway, I was in at my desk, filling out a flight test card when the Colonel came storming
into my office, looking—he didn’t even have his hat on! You never go outside in the Air
Force without a hat. But anyway, he came in storming in with no hat, threw my application
on the floor, and called me a traitor to the Air Force. Whereupon I jumped up, saluted, and
said, “Good morning, sir. How are you?” I knew how he was. He wasn’t very good. And
he told me that he wanted me to withdraw my application, that he wanted me to stay there,
that I was providing a disservice to the Air Force by leaving the Air Force, going to NASA.
And I told him I couldn’t really do that. I’d already made up my mind. I’d gotten Bob White
involved in it. Air Force Headquarters was expecting it. And so, he yanked me off the X-15
Program right there. He said, “You’re off that program!” he says. “Your career is over!”
So, I had all my eggs in one basket. And fortunately, I got selected! I might add that
many years later, after I’d left the Air Force, I got a letter from that guy. His name was
Peterson I think. I got a letter from him that said, “Jim, I’m sitting here on my patio in
Albuquerque” I think. “I’m retired, and I was just sitting here thinking about my Air Force
career and all the great decisions I made. And,” he said, “there was one really bad one I
made. I wanted you to know that I realize that I should never have threatened you like that.”
WARD: That was a pretty significant group that you joined with. The, I think, first group
after the original seven. As I recall, they dubbed you guys “The Original Nine.”