Legends & Heroes Autograph Tent

Danny Garcia, USMC (Ret.) - The Walking Man

globalwalk.cc/about/

One man’s walk around the world for children and world peace – All 7 continents, over 52,000,000 steps, spanning more than 2 decades…

Author of the book, “Marines Don’t Cry”, with his wife Lt Col. (Ret.) Jackie Garcia.

Danny Garcia is former marine and ordained minister who has walked and prayed for children and world peace on six continents, more than 26,000 miles (greater than the circumference of the earth) for over 23 years. In 1996, Danny Garcia took his first steps as a personal commitment and lifelong pursuit of peace.

The main purpose of Danny’s walks is to facilitate, promote, and support the needs of children and their families, which includes engaging in humanitarian aid to victims of fire, poverty, flood, earthquake, or war. Danny inspires hope, shares spiritual wisdom, and renders aid to the needy. He encourages others to do the same while teaching people how to communicate with respect.

He continues to walk and pray globally.

People world-wide request his story in print and in video.  The biography of his life, cowritten with his wife and  titled “Marines Don’t Cry: Delivering the Message at All Costs” was released December 2021.  The book is available wherever books are sold.  The book describes Danny’s life, dramatic conversion to Christianity, and more so his personal experiences with the power, miracles, and love of God.

Jackie is the CEO and President of Global Walk Inc., a FL Not for Profit, encompassing the charitable and ministry aspect of their work. Together they also run Danny Garcia Walking Man, LLC., a production company that raises funds for charities.

Jackie Garcia, Lt. Col retired. USAF

globalwalk.cc

Lt. Col Jackie Garcia is CEO of Global Walk, Inc. A graduate of the US Air Force Academy, she spent 21 years on active duty specializing in communications, acquisition, systems engineering and IT. A breast cancer survivor, Jackie’s vision is to spread the hope, love and grace of Jesus Christ through her writing.

Gene Kranz

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_Kranz

GENE KRANZ WILL BE AT THE LEGENDS AND HEROES AUTOGRAPH TENT ON SATURDAY ONLY AT WINGS OVER HOUSTON 2025!

Eugene Francis Kranz (born August 17, 1933) is an American aerospace engineer who served as NASA’s second Chief Flight Director, directing missions of the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs, including the first lunar landing mission, Apollo 11. He directed the successful efforts by the Mission Control team to save the crew of Apollo 13, and was portrayed in the 1995 film of the same name by actor Ed Harris. He characteristically wore a close-cut flattop hairstyle and the dapper “mission” vests (waistcoats) of different styles and materials made by his wife, Marta Kranz, for his Flight Director missions.

Kranz coined the phrase “tough and competent”, which became known as the “Kranz Dictum”. Kranz has been the subject of movies, documentary films, and books and periodical articles. Kranz is a recipient of a Presidential Medal of Freedom. In a 2010 Space Foundation survey, Kranz was ranked as the second most popular space hero.

Cpl. Don Graves, USMC

www.pbs.org/national-memorial-day-concert/concert/featured-stories/don-graves-story/

Don Graves was nearly 17 years old when he heard President Roosevelt’s address to Congress after the attack on Pearl Harbor.  After joining the Marines, he was assigned to the 5th Marine Division and sent to the Pacific. Graves was a flamethrower, carrying a 72-pound weapon on his back filled with five gallons of liquid fuel. His platoon, the 28th Regiment, was assigned to take Mount Suribachi on the island of Iwo Jima, facing relentless attacks day and night from Japanese troops.

Col. Joseph "Joe" Peterburs

www.americansinwartime.org/explore/voices-of-freedom/joe-peterburs

From the Americans in Wartime Experience, Voice of Freedom(R):

Cold War, Korean War, Vietnam War, World War II

Joe Peterburs served his country as a member of the Army Air Forces during World War II.  As a P-51 Mustang fighter pilot, Joe shot down a German fighter ACE who was flying the Me-262, the world first operational jet fighter.  After shooting down the German, he too would be shot down.  He became a POW, but escapted and hooked up with a Russian tank unit before being reunited with American forces.

Joe would become a member of the United States Air Force when it became a separate branch of the military in 1947.  He would go on to serve during the Korean, Vietnam and Cold War.  He retired in 1979 at the rank of Colonel.

Among his many awards are the Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star and Purple Heart.

J.W. "Bill" Kongable

bestdefensefoundation.org/veteran/tec5-john-bill-kongable/

Col. Joe McPhail

McPhail flew with the most successful Marine Fighting Squadron of 1945 was VMF-323, the “Death Rattlers”. In just a few weeks, they shot down 124½ Japanese and counted a dozen Aces. Col. McPhail downed a Zeke and, on April 12, 1945, while on patrol flying a F4U Corsair, shot day Ki-27 Nate. He is also a decorated combat pilot veteran of the Korean War.

Maybelle Blair

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maybelle_Blair

Maybelle Blair is a former pitcher who played for the All-American Girls Professional
Baseball League made famous by the movie “A League of Their Own”. She then worked for
Northrop Aircraft Corporation for 37 years where she became the first female manager in
transportation (third female manager in all of Northrop). Maybelle has been honored at the
American Veterans Conference in Washington DC for her contribution to the United States
Military. She has been featured on CBS Sunday Morning, Good Morning America, MLB Network,
Rachel Ray, and in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and LA Times. Has been honored at
Fenway Park in Boston, Wrigley Field in Chicago, both Angel Stadium and Dodger Stadium in Los
Angeles, the Arizona Diamondbacks, featured as a Yahoo Maker by the Yahoo Makers
Conference and most recently was recognized as one of AdWeek’s 2022 Most Powerful Women
in Sports. She is an ambassador for Boston Red Sox Women’s Fantasy Camp, Baseball For All,
Inc., a founding member of the International Women’s Baseball Center, Inc. and the inspiration
behind the new Amazon Prime Video television series A League of Their Own.

Fred Haise

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Haise

FRED HAISE WILL BE AT THE LEGENDS AND HEROES AUTOGRAPH TENT ON SATURDAY ONLY AT WINGS OVER HOUSTON 2025!

Fred Wallace Haise Jr. (/heɪz/ HAYZ) is an American former NASA astronaut, engineer, fighter pilot with the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Air Force, and a test pilot. He is one of 24 people to have flown to the Moon, having flown as Lunar Module Pilot on Apollo 13. He was slated to become the 6th person to walk on the Moon, but the Apollo 13 landing mission was aborted en route.

Haise went on to fly five Space Shuttle Approach and Landing Tests in 1977, and retired from NASA in 1979.

Robert Boeke, WWII Veteran

www.news-press.com/story/news/newswire/2020/01/22/tinker-bell-marry-valentines-day-man-she-had-not-seen-70-years/4540535002/

Margaret Kerry (the real-life Tinker Bell) and Robert Boeke had a whirlwind romance that began in their 20s, then reconnected and married in 2020 at the ages of 90 and 94, respectively. Boeke, a World War II veteran and retired Mobil Oil executive, reconnected with Kerry after seeing a sign in Amsterdam that reminded him of her. They got married in California on Valentine’s Day in 2020 and eventually moved to North Carolina, where Boeke is from. 

Margaret Kerry (Disney's "Tinker Bell")

www.news-press.com/story/news/newswire/2020/01/22/tinker-bell-marry-valentines-day-man-she-had-not-seen-70-years/4540535002/

Margaret Kerry (the real-life Tinker Bell) and Robert Boeke had a whirlwind romance that began in their 20s, then reconnected and married in 2020 at the ages of 90 and 94, respectively. Boeke, a World War II veteran and retired Mobil Oil executive, reconnected with Kerry after seeing a sign in Amsterdam that reminded him of her. They got married in California on Valentine’s Day in 2020 and eventually moved to North Carolina, where Boeke is from. 

BM1 Albert Jowdy

www.jowdy.com/_Cart/al-jowdy/home/

From an oral interview by the National Museum of the Pacific War (The Portal to Texas History):

Jowdy enlisted in the Navy in July 1942 at the age of 15, with his parents’ consent. His first assignment was pulling bodies out of sunken ships in Pearl Harbor. At Guadalcanal, his ship was torpedoed. Due to the presence of enemy subs, he could not be rescued initially and spent two weeks floating in a raft. Then he joined a rescue effort to aid the USS Wasp (CV-7), only to be torpedoed again, spending another four days in the water. Jowdy was then assigned to the USS Salt Lake City (CA-25), patrolling the Bering Sea and participating in the Battle of the Komandorski Islands as a second loader on a 40-millimeter. After witnessing the Marianas Turkey Shoot and also seeing MacArthur film his famous return, Jowdy participated in the bombardment of Iwo Jima, amidst kamikazes and suicide boats. After the war, he survived a typhoon and served occupation duty in Japan, later transporting troops as part of the demobilization effort before being discharged in January 1946.

Info from: https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1605471/

Frank E. Hughes, NASA (Ret.)

airandspace.si.edu/support/wall-of-honor/frank-e-hughes

Frank Hughes began his career with NASA in 1966 at the NASA Kennedy Space Center, Florida where he was a developer and instructor on the Apollo Mission Simulators. He then worked as a flight planner for Skylab. In 1976, Frank worked as a simulation developer and flight planner on the Shuttle Approach and Landing Tests. In 1983, he became Chief of the Flight Training Branch during which time he also trained USAF operators and instructors. In 1990, he became Chief of the Space Flight Training Division.

In “The Great Apollo Train Wreck” Frank takes the reader on a journey through the heyday of the Space Race, as he and a team of dedicated engineers tried to figure out how to simulate trips to the moon. His story is sometimes tragic and sometimes hilarious but always informative and easy to read.

Info from: http://www.collectspace.com/ubb/Forum9/HTML/003998.html

Capt. Don Smith

A2C William "Buzz" Barron

“Buzz” Barron’s book, Crew Chief, be he ne’er so vile, provides more than a glimpse into what it took to maintain, service, launch, and recover the workhorse of the air war up North. His story is more than just what it was like to be a crew chief; it is about growing up, it is about life. He presents his story with great detail in the vernacular of his native language – Texan! His writing is full of earnest passion, humility, and empathy, sprinkled with subtle humor and some out right passages of out loud laughter.

Col. Jerry L. Ross

Ross is a retired United States Air Force officer, engineer and a former NASA astronaut. He is a veteran of seven Space Shuttle missions, making him the joint record holder for most spaceflights (a record he shares with Franklin Chang-Diaz). His papers, photographs and many personal items are in the Barron Hilton Flight and Space Exploration Archives at Purdue University. He was inducted into the Astronaut Hall of Fame during ceremonies in May 2014.

Ross is the author of Spacewalker: My Journey in Space and Faith as NASA’s Record-Setting Frequent Flyer (Purdue University Press, 2013) with John Norberg. In March 2014 it was announced Spacewalker would be available in a French translation through the specialist aerospace publisher Altipresse.

MSgt Wes Fields

Master Sergeant Fields is a 24-year service and a combat veteran.  He earned 62 decorations and awards while serving in the United States Air Force as an Aerial Gunner on the AC-130H Spectre Gunship assigned to the United States Air Force Special Operations Command. He participated in numerous special operation missions throughout the world.

CW 4 Daniel Flores

Flores is a native Houstonian and flew the AH-64 Apache helicopter.  Flores was activated in 2005 to be deployed to Afghanistan for Operation Enduring Freedom and, during his one year tour, was witness to the resurgence of the Taliban.  Flores participated on some of the fiercest fighting in the Hindu Kush Mountains.

Dr. Du Hua

Dr. Du Hua, a Navy veteran, was born in Vietnam during the war and lived under communist rule until escaping in 1981 and coming to the United States a year later. After learning English and earning a GED and an associate’s degree, Dr. Hua joined the United States Navy in 1987. He served multiple deployments, including Operation Desert Storm. After his military career, he became a pharmacist.

Maj. Terry Pappas

Terry Pappas spent 41 years flying for the USAF and NASA, including service during the Vietnam era. He has flown a wide array of aircraft from the T-38, Learjets, Gulfstreams, the Super Guppy, DC-9s, and the SR-71 Blackbird. With more than 10,000 hours, Terry retired from NASA in 2011.

Captain Mike Trahan

Mike Trahan was a pilot in Vietnam flying the AC-47 “Spooky” gunship. After graduation from Air Force Undergraduate Pilot Training, he spent two years in the Military Airlift Command, flying the C-141 Starlifter jet transport aircraft. In 1969, he was re-assigned to the AC-47 “Spooky” Gunship and later to the EC-47 Electric Countermeasures aircraft. He served a year of combat in Vietnam in those two aircraft.