Thu, Apr 07, 2011
Carried Medal Awarded To The Family Of A Fallen Soldier Killed
In Vietnam
After living aboard the International Space Station for six
months, NASA astronaut Douglas Wheelock returned to
Harpursville, N.Y., Wednesday to relive his spaceflight
experience for students of Harpursville Central School District and
to return the Medal of Honor he carried with him in space.
Astronaut Doug Wheelock
Wheelock gave a presentation to elementary and middle school
students of Harpursville Central. The presentation included a video
of Wheelock's time in space followed by a brief question-and-answer
session.
The official return of the Medal of Honor was held in the
Harpursville High School auditorium. During the military-style
ceremony, Wheelock transfered the Medal of Honor to Doris Stone,
mother of Sgt. Lester R. Stone Jr. The ceremony is open to the
public and media are encouraged to attend.
Sgt. Stone was killed in action west of Landing Zone Liz,
Republic of Vietnam, on March 3, 1969. The official citation
states, "The medal was presented for conspicuous gallantry and
intrepidity in action at the risk of his (Stone's) life above and
beyond the call of duty." The Medal of Honor was given to Stone's
parents and sister by President Richard Nixon at a White House
ceremony on April 7, 1970. Wheelock carried the Medal of Honor
during Expeditions 24 and 25 to the space station in 2010 as a
tribute to Stone.
Wheelock and his crewmates, cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin and NASA
astronaut Shannon Walker, joined the Expedition 24 crew members
when their Soyuz TMA-19 crew capsule docked with the orbiting
station on June 17, 2010. Wheelock assumed command of the station
and Expedition 25 with the departure of Expedition 24 Commander
Alexander Skvortsov. While in orbit, the crew helped support more
than 120 microgravity experiments. Their mission ended 163 days
later with a return to Earth on Nov. 25, 2010.
More News
Pilot Also Reported That Due To A Fuel Leak, The Auxiliary Fuel Tanks Were Not Used On June 4, 2025, at 13:41 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-23, N2109P, was substantially damage>[...]
From 2023 (YouTube Edition): Reflections on War’s Collective Lessons and Cyclical Nature The exigencies of war ought be colorblind. Inane social-constructs the likes of racis>[...]
Pilot Reported That He Was Unfamiliar With The Single Seat Amateur-Built Airplane And His Intent Was To Perform High-Speed Taxi Testing Analysis: The pilot reported that he was unf>[...]
From 2023 (YouTube Edition): First Kits to Ship October 2023 Having formerly resurrected the storied shape of the Ryan ST—in effigy, anyway—Montrose, Colorado-based Tim>[...]
Performance-Based Navigation (PBN) [ICAO] Area navigation based on performance requirements for aircraft operating along an ATS route, on an instrument approach procedure or in a d>[...]
NTSB Prelim: Piper PA-23
See All