
AmericaÂs first spaceman, Navy Comdr. Alan Shepard, appears in a crowded state Department auditorium at news conference on May 8, 1961. Sitting in the front row, from left, are: Mr. and Mrs. R. P. Brewer, parents of Mrs. Shepard; Col. and Mrs. Gordon Sherman, sister of Astronaut Shepard; Col. and Mrs. Alan Shepard, Sr., and Mrs.Louise Shepard, wife of the Astronaut. (AP Photo) Ref #: PA.8776615