Captain James A. Lovell, USN
Inducted December 2017

Attended the University of Wisconsin NROTC Program between 1946 and 1948

Captain Lovell attended the University of Wisconsin between 1946 and 1948 then continued on to the United States Naval Academy and, after graduating in 1952, entered the United States Navy where he served in the Korean War. After spending four years as a test pilot at the Naval Air Test Center in Patuxent River, Maryland, he was then selected in 1962 for the second group of NASA astronauts.

Captain Lovell was the backup pilot for Gemini 4, and his first spaceflight was as pilot of Gemini 7 in December 1965. He became backup commander of Gemini 9A, and in November 1966 made his second flight into space as commander of Gemini 12. After these two flights, Captain Lovell had spent more time in space than any other human.

He was then made command module pilot on the backup crew for Apollo 9 with Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. Captain Lovell flew on Apollo 8 in December 1968, the first manned mission to travel to the Moon.

On April 11, 1970, Captain Lovell took off on Apollo· 13 with Fred Raise and Jack Swigert, planning to land on the Moon along with Haise. But on April 13, an oxygen tank on the spacecraft exploded, causing it to lose oxygen and power. The mission was aborted.

He retired from the Navy and the space program in 1973 and went to work at the Bay-Houston Towing Company in Houston, Texas, becoming CEO in 1975. He became president of Fisk Telephone Systems in 1977, and later worked for Centel, retiring as an executive vice president on January 1, 1991.

Along with Jeffrey Kluger, Captain Lovell wrote a book on the Apollo 13 mission, Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13. This book was the basis for the later Ron Howard movie Apollo 13 starring Tom Hanks as Captain Lovell.

He married Marilyn Gerlach in 1952 and they have four children - Barbara (born in 1953), James (1955), Susan (1958) and Jeffrey (1966).

Article from the SeaBadger January 2017

Captain Lovell Visits with Wisconsin Midshipmen - by LT Kaitlin Dryden

The Wisconsin NROTC unit had the honor of welcoming former NASA astronaut and retired Navy Captain James Lovell on Saturday, 17 December, for a reception at the unit hosted by the midshipmen.

Lovell returned to the unit where his career in the Navy began, as a “Flying Midshipman” at the University of Wisconsin-Madison from 1946 to 1948, before transferring to continue his education at the U.S. Naval Academy. In Madison as the speaker for the Winter Commencement, he spent some of his time with members of the current battalion, staff, and members of the Alumni Association. He shared stories from both his time in the Navy and at NASA and gave advice to the future officers as they prepare themselves for commissioned service.

Commanding Officer Captain Christopher Murdoch stated, “We are honored that Captain Lovell took time to spend interacting with the midshipmen here at his former unit. He is the first distinguished alumni from the University of Wisconsin Naval ROTC program, which was established the very same year Captain Lovell began his training here, and which remains in the Naval Armory at 1610 University Avenue. Captain Lovell shared memories and leadership guidance from his remarkable U.S. Navy career that included flying fighters from the aircraft carrier USS Shangri-La and more than a decade flying space craft for NASA.”

Midshipmen from all classes thoroughly enjoyed the time they spent with Captain Lovell and learned a great deal from his stories and advice. “It was an incredible honor to meet a national hero,” said MIDN 4/C Anabel Roza from Seattle, WA. “It was so motivating to hear about how he started out as a midshipman here just like us and accomplished so many amazing things.”

A highlight of the visit was Captain Lovell’s retelling of the storied events of his Apollo 13 mission. "I especially learned from his story about maintaining his composure and focus on getting his men home when everything possible went wrong,” said Midshipman 1/C Christopher Poellinger from Coon Valley, WI. “His comments really drove home the point in my mind that the best approach to hardships in life is to maintain a positive outlook.”