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Citizen Journal: Meeting Apollo 1 astronaut is a special memory from her time as a Navy Wave, Doreene Hadley Anderson writes

An undated photo made available by NASA shows the Apollo 1 crew, from left, Edward H. White II, Virgil I. “Gus” Grissom, and Roger B. Chaffee. On Jan. 27, 1967, a flash fire erupted inside their capsule during a countdown rehearsal, with the astronauts atop the rocket at Cape Kennedy Launch Complex 34, now Cape Canaveral. All three died. (Johnson Space Center / Associated Press)
By Doreene Hadley Andersen Special to The Spokesman-Review
An undated photo made available by NASA shows the Apollo 1 crew, from left, Edward H. White II, Virgil I. “Gus” Grissom, and Roger B. Chaffee. On Jan. 27, 1967, a flash fire erupted inside their capsule during a countdown rehearsal, with the astronauts atop the rocket at Cape Kennedy Launch Complex 34, now Cape Canaveral. All three died. (Johnson Space Center / Associated Press)

Serving in the United States Navy as a Wave in the mid-’60s was an educational experience for me.

Upon finishing Boot Camp in Bainbridge, Maryland, I was transferred to Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, Texas. I was assigned to operations where I worked as a yeoman in the office of the commander of operations.

One day the commander ordered me to hand-deliver sensitive “yard mail” to the air traffic control.

I immediately put on my garrison cap and rushed to the ladder (Navy word for stairs) holding onto the “yard mail” I proceeded to rush down the ladder as quickly as possible not realizing that someone was coming up the ladder. By the time I realized that I wasn’t the only one on the ladder, I collided with an officer.

We both fell to our knees, and I was a nervous wreck. I apologized and saluted and I said, “By your leave, sir.”

We stood up at the same time while brushing off our uniforms. Once we both got our composure he continued to walk up the ladder, and I in turn walked down to air traffic control.

I found out the officer who I bumped into on the ladder wasn’t just a Navy officer but was NASA astronaut Edward White.

White was the first American to walk in space June 3, 1965. Talk about having a really exciting letter to write home to my parents.

I’m terribly sad to say though that this isn’t the end to the story.

On Jan. 27, 1967, Astronaut Edward White perished in what was a horrendous accident. He along with astronauts Virgil “Gus” Grissom; and Roger Chaffee died in a fire in the spacecraft while preparing for pre-launch at Cape Kennedy, now Cape Canaveral.

Meeting astronaut Edward White was one of my many interesting experiences while I was in the Navy and will forever be in my heart.

Doreene Hadley, a Massachusetts native, has lived in the Spokane area for 25 years. She served in the Navy from 1965 through 1968, and later retired as a pharmaceutical technician. She enjoys writing and photography. She can be reached by email at rockofgibralter60 @comcast.net.