William Pogue

William Pogue was born on January 23, 1930, in Okemah, Oklahoma, to Alex Wallis Pogue and Margaret Frances Pogue () and he self-identifies as being of Choctaw descent. Pogue attended Lake Elementary School and Sand Springs High School (now Charles Page High School) in Sand Springs, Oklahoma, completing his high-school education in 1947. He participated in the Boy Scouts of America, earning the rank of Second Class. Pogue attended Oklahoma Baptist University in Shawnee, Oklahoma, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in Education in 1951. In 1960, he graduated from Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Oklahoma, with a Master of Science degree in Mathematics. ==Career==

Flight experience Pogue was attracted to flying from an early age; he first flew an airplane while in high school. At 84 days, 1 hour and 15 minutes, it was the longest crewed flight to that date. ==Personal life==

William Pogue married three times; his first marriage was in 1952 to Helen Juanita Dittmar, with whom he had three children. == In popular culture ==

The 6139-6005 model Seiko watch which Pogue took on his Skylab mission as his personal watch is known to watch collectors as the "Pogue". It is of interest to collectors because it is the first automatic chronograph in space and unusual because NASA astronauts generally wore their NASA-issued Omega Speedmaster. ==Special honors==

Pogue and his crew members received many awards. Pogue won the Johnson Space Center Superior Achievement Award in 1970. Three Skylab crews, including Pogue, were awarded the 1973 Robert J. Collier Trophy. In 1974, President Richard Nixon presented the Skylab 4 crew with the NASA Distinguished Service Medal, and the awarded the crew the De La Vaulx Medal and Vladimir Komarov Diploma that year. Pogue was among nine Skylab astronauts who were presented with the City of Chicago Gold Medal in 1974 after a parade with 150,000 spectators. The American Astronautical Society's 1975 Flight Achievement Award was awarded to the crew. Gerald P. Carr accepted the 1975 Dr. Robert H. Goddard Memorial Trophy from President Gerald Ford, which was awarded to the Skylab astronauts, who also won the AIAA Haley Astronautics Award in 1975. William R. Pogue Municipal Airport in Sand Springs, Oklahoma, was named in Pogue's honor in 1974. The Oklahoma Aviation and Space Museum awarded him the Clarence E. Page Memorial Trophy for "making significant and ongoing contributions to the U.S. aviation industry" in February 1989. Page died eight days before the award was presented and Pogue used most of his speech to memorialize Page's life. Pogue was awarded an honorary doctorate of science from Oklahoma Baptist University in 1974. Pogue received the City of New York gold medal and the General Thomas D. White USAF Space Trophy for the same year. Pogue has been inducted into three halls of fame. He was inducted into the Five Civilized Tribes Hall of Fame in 1975, and was one of five Oklahoman astronauts inducted into the Oklahoma Aviation and Space Hall of Fame in 1980. Pogue was one of 24 Apollo astronauts who were inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame in 1997. As a member of the USAF Thunderbirds, he won the Air Medal, Air Force Commendation Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, and an Air Force Outstanding Unit Award. ==Bibliography==