Jon Andrew McBride (August 14, 1943 – August 7, 2024) was an American

naval officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer (NCO), or a warrant officer. However, absent ...

test pilot A test pilot is an aircraft pilot with additional training to fly and evaluate experimental, newly produced and modified aircraft with specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques.Stinton, Darrol. ''Flying Qualities and Flight Testin ...

astronaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a List of human spaceflight programs, human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member of a spa ...

and administrator for

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

. Throughout his career with the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

, McBride served as an

aviator An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators because they a ...

, a

fighter pilot A fighter pilot or combat pilot is a Military aviation, military aviator trained to engage in air-to-air combat, Air-to-ground weaponry, air-to-ground combat and sometimes Electronic-warfare aircraft, electronic warfare while in the cockpit of ...

, a test pilot, and an

aeronautical engineer Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is s ...

. He had achieved the rank of captain when he retired in 1989. McBride was an astronaut with NASA, a role in which he piloted

STS-41-G STS-41-G (formerly STS-17) was the 13th flight of NASA's Space Shuttle program and the sixth flight of Space Shuttle ''Challenger''. ''Challenger'' launched on October 5, 1984, and conducted the second shuttle landing at Kennedy Space Center o ...

, and would have been commander of

STS-61-E STS-61-E was a NASA Space Shuttle mission planned to launch on 6 March 1986 using ''Columbia''. It was canceled after the ''Challenger'' disaster. Crew Backup crew Mission objectives ''Columbia'' was to carry the ASTRO-1 observatory ...

had the mission not been canceled as the next scheduled launch in the wake of the ''Challenger'' disaster.

Early life, education and personal life

Jon McBride was born on August 14, 1943, in

Charleston, West Virginia Charleston () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in West Virginia, most populous city of the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is the county seat of Kanawha County, West Virginia, Kanawha County and ...

. When he was still a young child, his family moved to

Beckley, West Virginia Beckley is a city in Raleigh County, West Virginia, United States, and its county seat. The population was 17,286 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in West Virginia, ninth-most populous city in th ...

, which he considered to be his hometown. In 1960, he graduated from Beckley's Woodrow Wilson High School, then attended

West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia, United States. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Ins ...

from 1960–1964 and received a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree in

Aeronautical Engineering Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is s ...

from the U.S.

Naval Postgraduate School Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) is a Naval command with a graduate university mission, operated by the United States Navy and located in Monterey, California. The NPS mission is to provide "defense-focused graduate education, including clas ...

in 1971. He did graduate work in

Human Resource Management Human resource management (HRM) is the strategic and coherent approach to the effective and efficient management of people in a company or organization such that they help their business gain a competitive advantage. It is designed to maximize e ...

Pepperdine University Pepperdine University () is a private university, private Christianity, Christian research university affiliated with the Churches of Christ, with its main campus in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Pepperdine's main campus consists ...

. At West Virginia University, McBride became a member of the

Phi Delta Theta Phi Delta Theta (), commonly known as Phi Delt, is an international secret and social Fraternities and sororities in North America, fraternity founded in 1848, and currently headquartered, at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Phi Delta Theta, alo ...

fraternity. McBride was married to the former Brenda Lou Stewart in 1966. They had three children, Richard M. (1962–1992), Melissa L. (1966), and Jon A. (1970). After their divorce in 1986, he married the former Sharon Lynn White in 1988, which also ended in divorce in 2019.

Military career

McBride's naval service began in 1965 with flight training at

Naval Air Station Pensacola Naval Air Station Pensacola or NAS Pensacola (formerly NAS/KNAS until changed circa 1970 to allow Nassau International Airport, now Lynden Pindling International Airport, to have IATA code NAS), "The Cradle of Naval Aviation", is a United Sta ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. After being designated a

naval aviator Naval aviation / Aeronaval is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. It often involves '' navalised aircraft'', specifically designed for naval use. Seaborne aviation encompas ...

and receiving his

wings A wing is a type of fin that produces both lift and drag while moving through air. Wings are defined by two shape characteristics, an airfoil section and a planform. Wing efficiency is expressed as lift-to-drag ratio, which compares the bene ...

in August 1966, he was assigned to Fighter Squadron 101 (

VF-101 Strike Fighter Squadron 101 (VFA-101), also known as the "Grim Reapers", was a United States Navy Fleet Replacement Squadron (FRS) based at Eglin AFB, Florida. After the West Coast FRS for the F-14 Tomcat, VF-124, was disestablished in the mid-1 ...

) based at

Naval Air Station Oceana Naval Air Station (NAS) Oceana or NAS Oceana is a United States Navy Naval Air Station located in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The station is located on 23.9 square kilometers. It has total of 250 aircraft deployed and buildings valued at $800 mi ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

for training on the

F-4 Phantom II The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber that was developed by McDonnell Aircraft for the United States Navy.Swanborough and Bower ...

aircraft. He was subsequently assigned to Fighter Squadron 41 ( VF-41) where he served three years as a

and division officer. He also served tours with

VF-11 Fighter Squadron 11 or VF-11 was an aviation unit of the United States Navy. It was originally established as VF-5 on 1 February 1927, redesignated as VF-5S on 1 July 1927, redesignated as VF-5B in January 1928, redesignated VB-1B on 1 July 1928, ...

and

VF-103 Strike Fighter Squadron 103 (VFA-103), nicknamed the Jolly Rogers, is an aviation unit of the United States Navy established in 1952. VFA-103 flies the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and is based at Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia (US). The ...

. While deployed in Southeast Asia, McBride flew 64

combat missions ''Combat Missions'' was a one-hour-long reality television series produced by Mark Burnett and hosted by former ''Survivor (American TV series), Survivor'' castaway Rudy Boesch that aired from January to April in 2002 on the USA Network. It pits ...

during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

. He attended the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School (Class 75A) at

Edwards Air Force Base Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force installation in California. Most of the base sits in Kern County, California, Kern County, but its eastern end is in San Bernardino County, California, San Bernardino County and a souther ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

before reporting to Air Test and Development Squadron Four (

VX-4 VX-4, Air Test and Evaluation Squadron Four (AIRTEVRON FOUR), commonly referred to by its nickname of The Evaluators, was a United States Navy air test and evaluation squadron based at Naval Air Station Point Mugu, California. Their tail code was ...

) at

Naval Air Station Point Mugu Naval Air Station Point Mugu was a United States naval air station near Oxnard, California, which operated as an independent base from 1941 to 2000, when it merged with nearby Naval Construction Battalion Center Port Hueneme to form Naval Base ...

in California, where he served as a maintenance officer and Sidewinder project officer. He flew over 40 different types of

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

and

civilian A civilian is a person who is not a member of an armed force. It is war crime, illegal under the law of armed conflict to target civilians with military attacks, along with numerous other considerations for civilians during times of war. If a civi ...

aircraft and piloted the Navy "Spirit of '76" bicentennial-painted F-4J Phantom in various

air show An air show (or airshow, air fair, air tattoo) is a public event where aircraft are trade fair, exhibited. They often include aerobatics demonstrations, without which they are called "static air shows" with aircraft parked on the ground. The ...

s during 1976, 1977, and 1978. He held

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is a Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government agency within the United States Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of Transportation that regulates civil aviation in t ...

ratings which included civilian commercial pilot certificate (multi-engine), instrument, and glider, and he previously served as a certified flight instructor. He logged over 8,800 hours of flying time—including 4,700 hours in

jet aircraft A jet aircraft (or simply jet) is an aircraft (nearly always a fixed-wing aircraft) propelled by one or more jet engines. Whereas the engines in Propeller (aircraft), propeller-powered aircraft generally achieve their maximum efficiency at much ...

and over 600 carrier landings.

NASA career

STS 41-G crew photo taken on the flight deck of the Challenger during flight - STS41G-19-006

Selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA in January 1978, McBride became an astronaut in August 1979, the first astronaut from West Virginia. His NASA assignments included lead chase pilot for the maiden voyage of Space Shuttle ''Columbia'',

software Software consists of computer programs that instruct the Execution (computing), execution of a computer. Software also includes design documents and specifications. The history of software is closely tied to the development of digital comput ...

verification in the

Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory The Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory (SAIL) was a facility at Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, US. Facility It was the only facility in the Space Shuttle Program where actual orbiter hardware and flight software can be i ...

, capsule communicator for

STS-5 STS-5 was the fifth NASA Space Shuttle mission and the fifth flight of the Space Shuttle ''Columbia''. It launched on November 11, 1982, and landed five days later on November 16, 1982. STS-5 was the first Space Shuttle mission to deploy comm ...

STS-6 STS-6 was the sixth NASA Space Shuttle mission and the maiden flight of the . Launched from Kennedy Space Center on April 4, 1983, the mission deployed the first Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, TDRS-1, into orbit, before landing at Edwards ...

, and

STS-7 STS-7 was NASA's seventh Space Shuttle mission, and the second mission for the Space Shuttle Challenger, Space Shuttle ''Challenger''. During the mission, ''Challenger'' deployed several satellites into orbit. The shuttle launched from Kennedy ...

, flight data file manager, and

orbital rendezvous Orbital may refer to: Sciences Chemistry and physics * Atomic orbital * Molecular orbital * Hybrid orbital Astronomy and space flight * Orbit ** Earth orbit Medicine and physiology * Orbit (anatomy), also known as the ''orbital bone'' * Orbito ...

procedures development. McBride was the pilot of

, which launched from

Kennedy Space Center The John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC, originally known as the NASA Launch Operations Center), located on Merritt Island, Florida, is one of the NASA, National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) ten NASA facilities#List of field c ...

in Florida, on October 5, 1984, aboard the Orbiter ''Challenger''. This was the first crew of seven, at the time the largest crew ever sent into space. During their eight-day mission, crew members deployed the

Earth Radiation Budget Satellite The Earth Radiation Budget Satellite (ERBS) was a NASA scientific research satellite. The satellite was one of three satellites in NASA's research program, named Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE), to investigate the Earth's radiation budg ...

, conducted scientific observations of the Earth with the OSTA-3 pallet and Large Format Camera, and demonstrated potential satellite refueling with an EVA and associated

hydrazine Hydrazine is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is a simple pnictogen hydride, and is a colourless flammable liquid with an ammonia-like odour. Hydrazine is highly hazardous unless handled in solution as, for example, hydraz ...

transfer. The mission duration was 197 hours and concluded with a landing at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, on October 13, 1984. McBride was scheduled to fly again in March 1986 as the commander of

. This flight was one of several deferred by NASA in the wake of the ''Challenger'' accident in January 1986. STS-61-E crew

On July 30, 1987, McBride was assigned to

NASA Headquarters The Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building at 300 E Street SW in Washington, D.C. houses NASA leadership who provide overall guidance and direction to the US government executive branch agency NASA, under the leadership of the NASA administ ...

to serve as assistant administrator for Congressional Relations, with responsibility for NASA's relationship with the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

, and for providing coordination and direction to all headquarters and field center communications with congressional support organizations. He held this post from September 1987 through March 1989. In 1988, McBride was named to command the crew of the

STS-35 STS-35 was the tenth flight of Space Shuttle ''Columbia'', the 38th shuttle mission. It was devoted to astronomical observations with ASTRO-1, a Spacelab observatory consisting of four telescopes. The mission launched from Kennedy Space Cent ...

(ASTRO-1) mission, scheduled for launch in March 1990, but chose to retire from NASA instead.

Post-NASA career

Business career

In May 1989, McBride retired from NASA and the U.S. Navy to pursue a business career. He moved to

Lewisburg, West Virginia Lewisburg is a city in and the county seat of Greenbrier County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 3,930 at the 2020 census. History Lewisburg is named after Andrew Lewis (American general), Andrew Lewis. In 1751 Lewis, as a youn ...

, where he became

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

and

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

of the Flying Eagle Corporation, a venture capital firm, and president of the Constructors' Labor Council of West Virginia, a group representing heavy and highway construction contractors.

Political career

In 1996, he unsuccessfully vied for the Republican nomination for

Governor of West Virginia A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

, losing to

Cecil H. Underwood Cecil Harland Underwood (November 5, 1922 – November 24, 2008) was an American politician who served as the 25th and 32nd governor of West Virginia from 1957 to 1961, and again from 1997 to 2001. A member of the Republican Party, he was the y ...

Kennedy Space Center and retirement

By 2008, McBride was retired and living near

Cocoa, Florida Cocoa is a city in Brevard County, Florida. Its population was 19,041 at the 2020 United States census, up from 17,140 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Palm Bay, Florida, Palm Bay–Melbourne, Florida, Melbourne–Titusville, Flori ...

. According to a short interview on September 20, 2017, during a "Meet an Astronaut" event, he was also actively working on improving the Space Shuttle Experience ride. He had proposed to assist in the development of a landing sequence for the ride. McBride remained active supporting the "Lunch with an Astronaut" program at Kennedy Space Center until 2020 when he announced his retirement from duty at the visitors complex. On September 23, 2011, the NASA

Independent Verification and Validation Facility NASA's Independent Verification & Validation (IV&V) Program was established in 1993 as part of an agency-wide strategy to provide the highest achievable levels of safety and cost-effectiveness for mission critical software. NASA's IV&V Program wa ...

(IV&V) in

Fairmont, West Virginia Fairmont is a city in Marion County, West Virginia, United States, and its county seat. The population was 18,313 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in West Virginia, eighth-most populous city in ...

, dedicated a NASA software laboratory to McBride, a West Virginia native. The laboratory's official name is the Jon McBride Software Testing and Research Laboratory, or JSTAR. JSTAR is NASA IV&V's environment for adaptable testing and simulation, designed to enhance tools and methods used to critically assess mission and safety critical software across NASA's missions. The lab supports end-to-end testing on mission flight software through the application of analytical rigor to reduce the threat of software-related mission failure.

Death

Jon McBride died on August 7, 2024, at the age of 80, just a week before his 81st birthday.

Organizations

Association of Naval Aviation Association may refer to: *Club (organization), an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal *Trade association, an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry *Voluntary associatio ...

Veterans of Foreign Wars The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), formally the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, is an Voluntary association, organization of United States Armed Forces, United States war veterans who fought in wars, Military campaign, campaig ...

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is an Voluntary association, organization of United States, U.S. war veterans headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. It comprises U.S. state, state, Territories of the United States, U.S. terr ...

Society of Experimental Test Pilots The Society of Experimental Test Pilots is an international organization that seeks to promote air safety and contributes to aeronautical advancement by promoting sound aeronautical design and development; interchanging ideas, thoughts and sugges ...

National Honor Society The National Honor Society (NHS) is one of the oldest, largest, and most widely recognized cocurricular student organizations in American high schools, with 1.4 million members. The purpose of the NHS is to create enthusiasm for scholarship, to ...

*West Virginia University Engineering Visiting Committee (

Chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

, 1990–1992) *

University System of West Virginia The University System of West Virginia was an American educational authority formed by the West Virginia Legislature on July 1, 1989, to oversee the operation of the state's graduate and doctoral degree-granting institutions. It was abolished on ...

Board of

Trustee Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, refers to anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility for the ...

s (1992–1995) *Co-Chairman (with wife),

American Cancer Society The American Cancer Society (ACS) is a nationwide non-profit organization dedicated to eliminating cancer. The ACS publishes the journals ''Cancer'', '' CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians'' and '' Cancer Cytopathology''. History The society w ...

fund-raising (State of

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

) 1990 *Executive Committee,

Boy Scouts of America Scouting America is the largest scouting organization and one of the largest List of youth organizations, youth organizations in the United States, with over 1 million youth, including nearly 200,000 female participants. Founded as the Boy Sco ...

*President,

Association of Space Explorers Association may refer to: *Club (organization), an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal *Trade association, an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry *Voluntary associatio ...

(USA) (1997–1998) * Executive Committee, Association of Space Explorers (Co-President, 1995–1996) *

March of Dimes March of Dimes is a United States nonprofit organization that works to improve the health of mothers and babies. The organization was founded by US President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1938, as the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, to co ...

American Red Cross The American National Red Cross is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit Humanitarianism, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. Clara Barton founded ...

Disaster Relief *Shawnee Hills Mental Health Group

Awards and honors

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievemen ...

Defense Superior Service Medal The Defense Superior Service Medal (DSSM) is a military decoration of the United States Department of Defense, which is presented to United States Armed Forces service members who perform superior meritorious service in a position of significant ...

Air Medal The Air Medal (AM) is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. It was created in 1942 and is awarded for single acts of heroism or meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight. Criteria The Air Medal was establi ...

s (3) *

Navy Commendation Medal The Commendation Medal is a mid-level United States military decoration presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Each branch of the United States Armed Forces issues its own version of the Commendation Medal, with a fift ...

with Combat V *

Navy Unit Commendation The Navy Unit Commendation (NUC) is a United States Navy and United States Coast Guard unit award that was established by order of the Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal on 18 December 1944. History Navy A navy, naval force, military m ...

National Defense Service Medal The National Defense Service Medal (NDSM) is a service award of the United States Armed Forces established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953. It was awarded to every member of the U.S. Armed Forces who served during any one of four s ...

Vietnam Service Medal The Vietnam Service Medal was a military award of the United States Armed Forces established on 8 July 1965 by order of President Lyndon B. Johnson. The medal is awarded to recognize service during the Vietnam War by all members of the U.S. ...

NASA Space Flight Medal The NASA Space Flight Medal is a decoration of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. According to its statutes, it is awarded "for significant achievement or service during individual participation as a civilian or military astronau ...

West Virginia Secretary of State The secretary of state of West Virginia is an elected office within the U.S. state of West Virginia state government. The secretary of state is responsible for overseeing the state's election process, including voter registration and election r ...

's "State Medallion" and appointed "West Virginia Ambassador of Good Will Among All Men" (1980) *

Honorary Doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

Aerospace Engineering Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is s ...

from

Salem College Salem College is a private women's liberal arts college in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Founded in 1772 as a primary school, it later became an academy (high school) and ultimately added the college. It is the oldest female educational esta ...

(1984) *Honorary Doctorate of Science from

(1985) *Honorary Doctorate of Science from

University of Charleston The University of Charleston (UC) is a private university with its main campus in Charleston, West Virginia. It also has a location in Beckley, West Virginia, known as UC-Beckley. History The school was founded in 1888 as the Barboursville Semin ...

(1987) *Honorary Doctorate of Science from West Virginia Institute of Technology (1987) *West Virginia Society's "Son-of-the-Year" (1988), City of Beckley *West Virginia "Hall of Fame" *Distinguished Alumni; West Virginia University (1988) *West Virginia's "Honorary

Italian-American Italian Americans () are Americans who have full or partial Italians, Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeastern United States, Northeast and industrial Midwestern United States, Midwestern ...

" (1988) *

Kanawha County, West Virginia Kanawha County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 180,745, making it West Virginia's most populous county. The county seat is Charleston, which is also the state capital and most ...

's "Famous Person Award" (1988) *West Virginia Broadcasters' "Man-of-the-Year" (1989) *City of Hope's "Spirit of Life Award Winner" (1991) *

Daughters of the American Revolution The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (often abbreviated as DAR or NSDAR) is a lineage-based membership service organization for women who are directly descended from a patriot of the American Revolutionary War. A non-p ...

"Medal of Honor" (1993) *West Virginia Aviation Hall of Fame (2014)

References

External links

Astronautix biography of Jon McBride

() * {{DEFAULTSORT:McBride, Jon 1943 births 1984 in spaceflight 2024 deaths American aerospace engineers American astronaut-politicians American business executives American commercial aviators Aviators from West Virginia Businesspeople from Charleston, West Virginia Military personnel from Beckley, West Virginia NASA people Naval Postgraduate School alumni Military personnel from Charleston, West Virginia People from Cocoa, Florida Pepperdine University alumni Recipients of the Air Medal Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal Recipients of the Legion of Merit Space Shuttle program astronauts U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School alumni United States Naval Aviators United States Navy astronauts United States Navy captains United States Navy personnel of the Vietnam War University System of West Virginia trustees West Virginia Republicans West Virginia University alumni Woodrow Wilson High School (Beckley, West Virginia) alumni Phi Delta Theta members Businesspeople from Beckley, West Virginia Politicians from Beckley, West Virginia Politicians from Charleston, West Virginia