Debriefing
Our Apollo Engineering reunion in Downey on the afternoon of Sunday July 19, 2009 was memorable and unique in many ways. The initial plan was to have a small gathering of co-workers from Marty Kinsler's Thermo and Fluid Dynamics department, but it soon expanded outward from there. The main reason that this occasion ended up as such a sensational event was the presence of some special guests who are some of the only remaining present day links to the top levels of the Apollo program enterprise in Downey. The next special guest we heard from was Flo Kinsler, the widow of Marty Kinsler. Their children and other members of the Kinsler family were also able to attend. Flo traced the history of her husband's path to become a department manager on Apollo. It was no surprise to hear that corporate leadership for the Apollo program was strong, and how the very best people were pulled from the ranks to come together in Downey. It is amazing to think how fast this new organization solidified in Downey and how much work was planned and completed in such a short span of years. North American Aviation has rightfully earned an honored place in spaceflight history. Chuck Statham, supervisor of the TPS group, was hoping to be there but had a last minute change of plans. However, we are thankful that he did send us some official photos that the NAA photographer took of the members of management from the Marty Kinsler and Norm Ryker organizations. Black badges, dark suits, and skinny ties prevailed. Many of you know of the excellent biography of Harrison Storms, “Angle of Attack” written by Mike Gray. The author was there and offered us a reading of several pages from his book. He revealed to us the inordinate amount of time it took him to finish the last few paragraphs of the book, crafting each sentence and word to his satisfaction. Perhaps it was a labor that he didn’t want to come to an end. You should make an effort to read (or reread) this book to fully understand the struggles involved in making the Apollo dream a reality. Another guest you may know about is Ed Rusinek, who is currently the editor of the NAA Retirees Bulletin. His personal history with the company goes back to the early 1950’s, so you can imagine how interesting his recollections were to us. The bulletin has published many excellent articles devoted to past projects and accomplishments of NAA and Rockwell. We look forward to reading more of these historical anecdotes, especially those related to the Apollo era. Ed is the person to see if your career was involved with any notable achievements that deserve to be documented and preserved as a historical first person account. Our reunion would not have been possible without the help and support of the Aerospace Legacy Foundation. The foundation was formed when the City of Downey acquired the property from NASA and needed help to preserve and protect the architectural wonderland, documents, and discarded materials that were left behind when Boeing abandoned the site. After the initial stabilization process was completed, the foundation now is more involved in supporting educational and historical research activities to preserve the heritage of the aviation, missile, and space exploration industries that made their homes in the Downey plant. Our ALF representative and coordinator is Larry Latimer. He was indispensable in managing our event and we are very thankful and appreciative. We had invited 77 guests and 50 were there on Sunday, which was a comfortable size group relative to the capacity of our room. Larry is a lifetime Downey resident, and has been a constant observer of the changes that have taken place at the facility since we Apollo veterans appeared on the scene in the 60’s. He recalled for us how so many of his neighbors, classmates, and friends had direct involvement in being employed by NAA or receiving financial support from a family member who worked at the plant. It was always an economic powerhouse for the city. Larry is now an expert on the entire history of that plot of land. You can support the work of the foundation by visiting their website at http://aerospacelegacyfoundation.com. It was a fortunate coincidence that the meeting room arranged for us by the ALF was in the Kaufmann wing of the plant. That addition was built in the 1930’s and includes the rotunda and the distinctive staggered single story buildings along Lakewood in the direction of Clark. The rotunda and the two story portion where the NASA reps used to have offices are still closed off, but the single story section has been remodeled. We used to call that the “annex” and it is where the Space Shuttle Phase A work was done and lastly, I seem to recall, the home of Advanced Systems. That section is now called the Kaufmann wing, in tribute to the architect Gordon Kaufmann. He is also credited with being the designer of Hoover Dam and the Los Angeles Times building. Downey Studios is presently using that area for their offices. They have done a first class job of renovating those spaces. When they took down the false ceilings they found the original wood beams and trusses of the roof system, which now look just like they did when the building was new. We hope that someday the rotunda area and mahogany row will also be restored to their original glory. The rotunda - that is 12214 Lakewood Blvd, the symbolic front door of the plant. From our meeting room location, we could walk down to the end of the hallway and see the circular stairway that led from the rotunda entrance to the oval office on the second floor where Harrison Storms spent so many hours of his remarkable life. That office is also symbolic as the center of the universe if you were in the business of building spacecraft to go to the moon. Everything is symbolic. Even the people who came to the reunion are symbolic. Finally, let me leave you with one parting thought. If you have ever wondered why you were put on this Earth, I have your answer. It was to become a member of the Apollo team.
None of us would have been in that room to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing if it weren't for the leadership and determination of our division president Harrison Storms. We were honored to have in attendance members of the Storms family. His daughter Patricia and his son Harrison Storms III were there, as well as some of Stormy's grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Patricia and Harrison spoke to us and offered a rare perspective on what it was like to have a father who shouldered the burden of producing the spacecraft that would take men to the moon and return them safely to Earth. We learned that Stormy's first and foremost concern was the well-being of the army of workers who were under his care. It was a responsibility that was a constant weight on his mind, both at work and during the shortened hours of his home life. We were told how he never ever considered himself special or privileged, but just an engineer with problems to solve and a task to complete. It was also made clear to us by his son Harrison that he was an engineer's engineer, who found enjoyment in tinkering in his garage. That description of his father could serve as the classic definition of how an engineer would chose to demonstrate his problem solving ability.
Another rare insight into the personal aspects of Stormy's tenure as chief executive occurred during the telling of a story about the office he occupied on the top floor of the rotunda entrance to the Downey plant. It was a story that only a few people ever knew about, which makes it all the more enlightening today. As division president, Stormy had the option to decorate that oval office to reflect his own personal taste and style. There were the usual photographs and commendations hanging on the walls, but front and center in the most prominent position was one image that was actually Stormy's very favorite. It was an oil painting of the ocean. Through the generous cooperation of the Storms family, we were able to have a reproduction of that painting to display at the reunion. It is a very dynamic seascape, with crashing waves that give you a vivid impression of the energy and the power of nature associated with the sea. The water, the clouds, and the air mixing with the waves are all fluids, and fluid dynamics is a discipline that he had a full understanding of from his education in the speciality of aerodynamics. The actual painting was inherited by his grandson Christopher who was there to accept our thanks and appreciation for sharing it with us.