Donn F. Eisele

Donn F. Eisele

Donn Fulton Eisele, a Colonel in the United States Air Force (Retired), was born on June 23, 1930 in Columbus, Ohio. He served as the Director of the Peace Corps in Thailand. Member of Tau Beta Pi and the National Engineering Society. Backup Command Module Pilot, Apollo 10.

Eisele died on December 1, 1987 after suffering a heart attack while on a business trip in Tokyo, Japan where he was to attend the opening of a new Space Camp patterned on the one at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama.

NASA Biography

Space Flights:

  • Command Module Pilot, Apollo 7, October 11-22, 1968. First shakedown flight of the Apollo spacecraft.

Total Hours in Space: 260+

Astronaut Group: 3-October 18, 1963

Degrees: BS, Aeronautics, U.S. Naval Academy, 1952; MS, Aeronautics, USAF Institute of Technology, 1960.

Military Service & Awards: He served in Korea and Vietnam. Awarded the NASA exceptional Service Metal, Air Force Senior Pilot Astronaut Wings, Air Force Distinguished Flying Cross; co-recipient of the AIAA 1969 Haley Astronautics Award; presented National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Special Trustees Award in 1969.

Interred at Arlington National Cemetery: December 9, 1987

Section: 3
Grave: 2503-G-1
Grid: Q-15

How to locate: From the Memorial Amphitheater walk South on Memorial Drive, turn right on Porter Drive, then left on McPherson Drive and left onto McKinley Drive. The roadway curves around a rectangular-shaped grassy area. Turn to the left, then right, around the grassy area. When you see a large black McGee headstone to your left just before the intersection with Miles Drive, turn right to continue on McKinley and stop after a few feet. Your back will be to the Air Force memorial in the distance. The Eisele gravesite is in the first row, to the right of Irwin.

Eisele headstone, front
Eisele headstone, back