James Benson Irwin (March 17, 1930 – August 8, 1991) was an American astronaut, aeronautical engineer, test pilot, and a United States Air Force pilot. He served as Lunar Module pilot for Apollo 15, the fourth human lunar landing. He was the 8th person to walk on the Moon.
Early life and education James Benson Irwin was born March 17, 1930, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to James William Irwin, a U.S. Army veteran of World War I, and Elsa Mathilda Irwin (née Strebel). Irwin's paternal grandparents emigrated to the U.S. from Altmore Parish in Pomeroy, County Tyrone, Ireland (now Northern Ireland) around 1859. In 1941, Irwin lived at 6006 Grand Boulevard in New Port Richey, Florida, and attended Pierce Elementary School (today the site of the New Port Richey Public Library and City Hall). While he was in the sixth grade, Irwin was also enrolled in seventh grade classes at Gulf High School due to his advanced aptitude. He is listed as a seventh grader in the 1942 Gulf High School yearbook. Throughout his life, Irwin frequently returned to New Port Richey, where he was a member of and attended the First Baptist Church. At about the age of 12, he informed his mother about his desire to go to the Moon, letting her know that he might be the first person to do so (he ended up being the eighth). He graduated from East High School in Salt Lake City, Utah, in 1947. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in naval science from the United States Naval Academy in 1951, and Master of Science degrees in aeronautical engineering and instrumentation engineering from the University of Michigan in 1957. He received initial flight training at Hondo Air Base and follow-up training at Reese Air Force Base, near Hondo and Lubbock, Texas, respectively. He graduated from the Air Force Experimental Flight Test Pilot School (Class 60C) in 1961, and the Aerospace Research Pilot School in 1963 (Class IV). Prior to joining NASA, he was chief of the Advanced Requirements Branch at Headquarters Air Defense Command. During his time in the United States Air Force, he received the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal and two Air Force Commendation Medals. He also received an Air Force Outstanding Unit Award while with the 4750th Training Wing. Irwin was also a developmental test pilot for the Lockheed YF-12, the Mach 3 fighter-interceptor variant which preceded the SR-71 Blackbird. His first flight of that aircraft was on the day that one of his five children was born. In 1961, a student pilot that Irwin was training crashed the plane they were flying on a training mission. They both survived, but Irwin suffered compound fractures, amnesia, and nearly lost a leg. John Forrest, a U.S. Air Force orthopedic surgeon, was instrumental in preventing the amputation of Irwin's leg. During his military service, he accumulated more than 7,015 hours flying time, of which 5,300 hours were in jet aircraft.
Personal life Irwin was raised in a Christian household but stopped actively practicing the religion at age 10. He became a devout born-again Christian after returning from space. He was a Young Earth Creationist. In 1952, Irwin married his first wife, who was a Catholic. The two had an unhappy marriage, worsened by his devotion to his work. By his own account, the marriage failed after two years due to his poor, borderline cruel treatment of her, and he later stated that finding religion again made familial relationships much easier. In 1959, Irwin married his second wife, the former Mary Ellen Monroe (born 1938). They were married until his death. Irwin had five children.
NASA career
Irwin was one of the 19 astronauts selected by NASA in April 1966. He was chosen as commander, with John S. Bull as lunar module pilot, for LTA-8, an environmental qualification test of the Apollo Lunar Module in a vacuum chamber at the Houston Space Environment Simulation Laboratory. He then served as a member of the astronaut support crew for Apollo 10, the first mission to carry the full Apollo stack to the Moon and the dry run for the first crewed Moon landing. Following that assignment, Irwin served as backup lunar module pilot for the second Moon landing mission, Apollo 12.
Apollo 15
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