Theodore C. Freeman

Theodore Freeman

Theodore Cordy Freeman, a Captain in the United States Air Force, was born on February 18, 1930 in Haverford, Pennsylvania. Member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and the Society of Experimental Test Pilots.

Freeman died on October 31, 1964 in a T-38 crash at Ellington Air Force Base, Houston, Texas. A goose smashed through his canopy. He ejected from the aircraft, but he was too close to the ground for his parachute to open properly. After the crash, it became mandatory to have a co-pilot during goose migration season.

NASA Biography

Space Flights: None

Total Hours in Space: 0

Astronaut Group: 3-October 18, 1963

Degrees: BS, U.S. Naval Academy, 1953, MS, Aeronautical Engineering, University of Michigan, 1960.

Military Service & Awards: Freeman graduated from both the Air Force’s Experimental Test Pilot and Aerospace Research Pilot Courses. He elected to serve with the Air Force. His last Air Force assignment was as a flight test aeronautical engineer and experimental flight test instructor at the Aerospace Research Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base, California. He served primarily in performance flight testing and stability testing areas.

Interred at Arlington National Cemetery: November 4, 1964

Section: 4
Grave: 3148 LH
Grid: AA-11

How to locate: From the visitor’s center walk south on Eisenhower Drive and turn right onto Porter Drive, then the first left at the five-way intersection onto Jessup Drive. Continue walking straight, and where the roadways split you will see a small triangle of grass. Take the fork to the left, which is the continuation of Jessup Drive. Walk up the hill for a short distance until you see a tree on your right with a headstone for Mission to the right of it. The Freeman gravesite is on the hill facing you, in the second row, just behind and to the right of the Mission headstone.