Bob Mellon, 55+ Club member has lived an exciting life. Bob served in the US Air Force from 1954 to 1974. He trained as a Flight Engineer performing aircraft inspections such as non-scheduled aircraft maintenance and preflight, through-flight, and post-flight inspections of aircraft away from home station.
Three hundred soldiers applied to be the Flight Engineer for Air Force One, and Bob was chosen. Qualifications were strict! Applicants who applied could not ever have gotten as much as a parking ticket or would be automatically denied. Bob flew Air
Force One from 1969 to 1974. During this time he served under Presidents Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard Nixon. Along with their families, Lady Bird Johnson and the Nixon daughters, Julie & Pat were often passengers. Many celebrities also flew on Air Force One such as Jimmie Stewart, Jill St. John, Sammy Davis Jr., and royalty such as the King of Norway and Queen Elizabeth of England. Bob will tell you that at any given time, while on assignment on Air Force One, it was not unusual to sleep in as many as 35 different states overnight.
After retiring from the Air Force in 1974, Bob’s high level of security clearance enabled him to get a job at NASA and work and study under Dr. Wernher Magnus Von Brahn. Dr. Von Brahn (March 23, 1912-June 16, 1977) was a German, later American, an aerospace engineer and space architect. Following the war, Von Braun was secretly moved to the United States. Bob
was a quality Insurance Inspector for the Titan and Atlas rockets under the direction of Von Braun.
Bob finally retired from the Space Center in 2007. Not wanting to be idle, Bob began a job at The King Center, where his wife Terry was volunteering at the time, in a security position and remained there for ten years. Both Bob & Terry Mellon have been active volunteers in our community and remain active members of The 55+ Club. Thank you for your service, Bob!
Submitted by, Louise Stevenson
