The dinner seating at the Naval Test Pilot School reunions at Pax River NAS
in Maryland used to be a random seating affair where you just picked out a
table and sat down with whoever ended up with you.
I had occasion to attend several of these reunions as the guest of TPS back
in the early seventies.
One year, I believe it was 72, my wife and I ended up seated with several of
the Mercury gang at the TPS reunion dinner . Among our group were Alan
Shepard and Wally Shirra.
My wife and I ended up seated between the two of them.
For several pleasant hours we sat and ate our dinner with these two
hilarious clowns. My wife kept kicking me under the table reminding me not
to succumb to the temptation to talk shop. I complied, as strangely enough,
none of us really seemed inclined to want to get into talking business.
Instead, we heard just about every golf joke existing on the planet, and
Shirra treated everybody to a first class tutorial on how to perform the
world's most memorable practical jokes on just about everybody.
The result was a wonderful day spent with the Mercury gang. We met as
strangers and left as friends.
In my opinion, these people were some of the brightest and finest, and truly
the best of the best of their day.
You are right. They will be missed.
Dudley Henriques

"ManhattanMan" wrote in message
...
I was priviledged to have been aboard the USS Kearsarge in Oct, 1962 to
witness the first astronaut to re-enter earths atmosphere in full view of
the recovery force. I took his picture climbing out of the 'Sigma 7'
Mercury capsule, from the catwalk overlooking #3 elevator, and it, along
with the two page spread from Look Magazine, has been on my office wall for
the last 45 years.
http://www.members.cox.net/drpics/shirra_oct62.jpg
Six months later we picked up Gordon Cooper, and it was a carbon copy of
Shirra's re-entry.

About four years later I was working for Aeronautical Radio, Inc. (ARINC)
in Kansas City, and discovered the station managers wife went to high
school with Wally, back in the Seattle area I believe. It's a small
world..

RIP Wally Shirra, and thanks for everything.....

Don