DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker at Brooks Air Force Base tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Now, there are places where history stacks up so deep you can practically feel the weight of it in the air. Brooks Air Force Base in San Antonio is one of those places.
And this particular hangar — this memorial hangar — carries a name that deserves more than a passing glance out the window. Edward H. White II was born right there in San Antonio, at Fort Sam Houston, on November 14, 1930.
He grew up to become an astronaut, a Lieutenant Colonel, and on June 3, 1965, he became the first American to walk in space — tethered to his Gemini spacecraft, floating out there where no American had ever floated before. Let that settle in for a second. The first American to step outside a moving spacecraft, with nothing but a tether between him and the infinite.
But the story doesn't end in triumph. On January 27, 1967, along with two companions, Edward White died in a flash fire at the launch site while in training for the first moon flight aboard an Apollo spacecraft. A flash fire.
On the ground. Training for the greatest journey humanity had ever attempted. The marker doesn't dress that up, and neither will I.
This hangar was dedicated in his memory on June 3, 1970 — five years to the day after that spacewalk. Now here's where the story gets one of those deep Texas layers to it. The marker tells us that astronaut White's father — Major General Edward H.
White — learned to fly right here, at Hangar 9. Same hangar. And he wasn't alone in doing his learning here.
Charles A. Lindbergh trained here too, along with many other pioneers of flight. Hangar 9 itself is one of over thirty of its type that stood at Kelly and Brooks fields.
It was the standard hangar used by the U.S. Army Signal Corps to house the Curtiss JN-4 — the Jenny, they called her — at flying schools during World War I. So this building has been a witness to about as wide a sweep of American aviation history as any structure you're likely to find.
Brooks Field itself carries a name with its own weight. It was named for Sidney J. Brooks, a San Antonio native, killed at Kelly Field on November 13, 1917.
Construction on Brooks Field began December 11, 1917, less than a month later. Colonel H. Conger Pratt was the first commander.
For a long time Brooks served as a primary school for heavier-than-air craft, and it pioneered many roles over the years — including the development of aerospace medicine. The earth and the stars, connected by one long, hard-won line of human ambition, running right through this spot. A father learned to fly here.
His son walked in space. And a hangar that once sheltered Jennies now carries the name of the man who reached farthest of all. That's not a coincidence the marker has to explain.
That's just what this place is.
What the marker says
Dedicated June 3, 1970. Edward H. White II Memorial Hangar Brooks Air Force Base Astronaut Lieutenant Colonel Edward H. White II (born at Fort Sam Houston, Nov. 14, 1930) was the first American to walk in space, while tethered to his Gemini spacecraft on June 3, 1965. Along with two companions, he died on Jan. 27, 1967, in a flash fire at the launch site while in training for the first moon flight aboard an Apollo spacecraft. The astronauts' flight heritage is tied closely to the pioneer flying schools of San Antonio. The father of astronaut White, Major General Edward H. White, learned to fly here at Hangar 9, as did Charles A. Lindbergh and many other pioneers. Hangar 9, one of over 30 of its type at Kelly and Brooks fields, was the standard hangar used by the U.S. Army Signal Corps to house the Curtiss JN-4 "Jenny" at flying schools during World War I. Brooks Field was named for San Antonio native Sidney J. Brooks, killed at Kelly Field, Nov. 13, 1917. Construction on Brooks Field began Dec. 11, 1917. Colonel H. Conger Pratt was the first commander. Long a primary school for heavier-than-air craft, it has been used for many pioneer roles, including development of aerospace medicine. (1970)