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Wall of Honor Level:
Air and Space Friend

Honored by:
Mr. Tom Mc Carthy

Ed Sellman was bom on November 8, 1924 and died on February 18, 2009. He graduated from the Massachusetts institute of Technology in 1946 with a degree in aeronautical engineering and was commissioned as an Ensign in the United States Navy. In 1956, he earned a master's degree from MIT in the same field. Upon commissioning, he participated in testing early rocket engines at the China Lake Naval Testing Station. Following a tour aboard the cruiser USS Topeka, he earned his coveted Naval Aviator wings at Pensacola in 1950. Ed was immediately assigned to Fighter Squadron 33 aboard the aircraft carrier USS Leyte where he flew numerous combat missions in Vought F4U Corsairs in support of United Nations forces in Korea. He later transitioned into the Douglas AD Skyraider, flying both the AD-5W early warning model and the AD-6 attack aircraft at various Naval Stations in the United States and aboard ship. Cdr. Sellman also served as Air Attaché to a Combined NATO Command on the island of Malta prior to his retirement from the Navy in 1969. Among his many awards, he earned the Air Medal with two clusters and a Presidential Unit Citation. After his USN service, he joined the Federal Aviation Administration's Office of Environmental Quality where he worked as a branch chief on many aircraft noise abatement projects, including the environmental impact statement that allowed the SST Concorde to operate in the United States. He retired from the FAA in 1988. Cdr. Sellman's distinguished, aviation-related 42 year career in the service of the United States is truly noteworthy.