After graduating from the University of Kansas in 1956, with a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering, Ronald Evans fulfilled his commission with the U.S. Navy. Following flight training in 1957, he flew off aircraft carriers and was a combat flight instructor for F-8’s off the USS Ticonderoga in the early years of the Vietnam conflict. In April of 1966, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) selected Captain Ron Evans for the astronaut program. He served as a member of the astronaut support crews for the Apollo 7 and Apollo 11 flights, as a back-up command-module pilot for Apollo 14, and was a command-module pilot for Apollo 17 mission. During his life, Evans accrued 5,500 hours of flight time and received numerous military decorations. Born in St. Francis, Kansas, he was also named “Kansan of the Year” in 1972.