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This is a NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project transcript of astronaut James A. McDivitt, interviewed by Doug Ward at Elk Lake, Michigan, on 29 June 1999. McDivitt talks about flying F-86s in Korea, test pilot work at Edwards, and his first class at the Aerospace Research Pilot School. He also covers turning down Dyna-soar, joining NASA in 1962 and learning to be an Apollo Program Manager. He describes the Change Board and says decisions were not second-guessed.
“The Pentagon”3 pages
Johnson Space Center Oral History Project James A. McDivitt 29 June 1999 12-31 MCDIVITT: Well, I was the best-looking astronaut there was, and so they picked me on looks in there. Personality! No, I have no idea. WARD: It was one of those mysteries of how the how the crew assignments were made. MCDIVITT: Yeah. Yeah. WARD: Something that Deke and Al kind of kept to themselves, I guess. MCDIVITT: Yeah. WARD: Was there any discussion within the—in your group at the time as to why one person would be singled out for a—there wasn’t so much a basis in seniority to make that sort of thing. In other words, Ed White had about the same seniority that you did. But— MCDIVITT: Yeah. Well, I think it goes back to what I said earlier. I had the—I was the best- looking guy and I had the greatest personality, and so how do you go wrong? WARD: Probably as good an answer as any. What was—well, you talked a bit about your relationship with Ed White and the fact that you had known each other in college, gone through selection together in that group. How was Ed’s selection for that mission handled? Was that something that you were selected as commander and then asked who do you want on your crew? Or were you selected as a group? As a pair? MCDIVITT: No. We were told together that we were going to fly together. Yeah, my relationship with Ed was—couldn’t have been better. He was the best friend I ever had. We lived, like I said, a block and a half or so apart on Saunders Crescent in Ann Arbor
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