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Wall of Honor Level:
Air and Space Friend

Honored by:
Olendina B Francisco Pereira

My wonderful husband, an aspiring Air and Space explorer, has spent most of his life dreaming of soaring the heavens. As a little boy, when asked by a teacher to draw a picture of what he'd like to be when he grew up, he of course proceeded to draw the interior of a cockpit with Captain Pererra at the controls. As a young man in Portugal he inquired about flight training but due to the strictness of the program and financial constraints he had to realize that it was not going to be a possibility.

As he approached the age of military attendance, he opted for the Special Forces of the Portuguese Military as a Paratrooper, the closest career choice to his "dream". After rigorous training, he then went on to serve as an allied force in Bosnia and Kosovo. Many times as he talks about bis training he tells the story of the first time he jumped and how frightened he was since it was also his first time in a plane.

Time has passed and he has continued to keep his joy of flight alive by artistically creating model planes of all eras of flight as well as acquiring resources to enrich his profound knowledge of the history of flight and its effect on our world in the past and today.

Living in America since the year 2000, he has realized that although it may be too late to pilot a 747 that he may still have the opportunity to acquire a license to pilot single engine planes which he can navigate from a small airport in our city of Danbury in Connecticut

On April 4, 2004 we had the opportunity to visit the Udvar-Hazy Center during my husband's first visit to our nation's capital. Paulo was like a child in a "candy store". He walked around in amazement and awe as he narrated the history of each plane without having to read the inscriptions provided by the museum.

For these and so many other reasons, I found it only appropriate to support the efforts of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum as well as honor my husband on his first Father's Day with the privilege of having his name inscribed on The National Aviation and Space Exploration Wall of Honor.

This gesture is symbolic of the love and respect I have for him and his passion of flight which I hope to pass on to the generations that follow.