Harry J. Benedict - Riverhead, New York
Longmeadow, Massachusetts
Westport, Connecticut
Fort Lauderdale, Florida

The National Space Program played a vital role in my life, both directly and as a beacon to achieve my life?€™s goal. As such, I am immensely grateful to all who have worked to create this enormously successful program.

I was born in 1935 and throughout most of the period of my childhood, and even as a young man, the United States was at war. Young men were subject to the draft and forced military service. I did not like war, and I did not want a job that involved potentially killing people. Therefore, I used every ounce of my energy and every molecule of my brain to avoid being drafted, even though I qualified. I grew up always finding ways to beat-the-system and eventually I graduated college as a mechanical engineer. I sought employment in a militarily critical industry to continue the draft deferment. But even while employed in a critical industry, United Aircraft Corp., I found myself mentally torn because I was initially engaged with selling the designs of products used in aircraft to bomb or otherwise kill people.

My life changed when the Space Program was launched. I could not wait to join the group within United Aircraft that gained responsibility for the design and manufacture of the life support system used in the Lunar Excursion Module; and later the space suit and life support system that the astronauts wore as they walked on the moon. YES!! Finally, my life focused on supplying products needed to support, not kill, life!! The Space Program was GOOD! Life support!!!

Eventually the Apollo program came to a close. However, United made room for the engineers, doctors, and fabricators of the Apollo life support systems by switching us to become innovators of earth based new medical products, including circulatory assist, pulmonary function, and transcutaneous power delivery systems, plus other innovative healthcare products.

The entire balance of my life and career as been associated with providing new technical products designed to help humanity live a better, healthier life. I went on after leaving United to build my own firm as well as to help other firms. I was involved with the design, manufacture and marketing of products used in cardiovascular, neurological, and microchemical research. The ultimate applications focused on clinical laboratory blood analysis, and correcting cardiac, nervous system and muscular disorders. All this work had its foundation in the spark generated by the Space Program.

Life's Goal: Use such abilities as GOD has provided me to make life better for other people through the design and distribution of new medical products.