Robert Seamans Jr., 89, ninth Air Force Secretary, serving from February 1969 to May 1973 during the Vietnam War, and a leading figure within NASA during the push in the 1960s to place a man on the moon, died June 28. The Washington Post reported yesterday that Seaman’s suffered a fatal heart attack in his home in Beverly Farms, Mass. Seamans was born in Salem, Mass., in 1918. He earned science degrees from Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and then taught in the fields of missiles and aeronautics at MIT. Later he worked for RCA as a missile engineer before joining NASA as associate administrator in 1960, advancing in 1965 to deputy administrator, the No. 2 post. He returned to MIT after leaving NASA in January 1968 until he assumed USAF’s top civilian post. In a statement issued June 30, NASA Administrator Michael Griffin said Seamans “will be remembered as one of the great pioneers and leaders of America’s space program.” (Seaman’s official Air Force biography and an obituary from Webwire.com.)
U.S. Air Force F-15C Eagles have roared out of Barnes Air National Guard Base, Mass., for the last time. The 104th Fighter Wing’s last three F-15Cs departed the base Oct. 23 for the “Boneyard” at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., ending the aircraft's era on the frontlines of homeland defense.
