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| Pete Conrad - St. Davids |
Charles "Pete" Conrad was born in 1930 into a well-to-do real estate and banking family. His father lost his money during the Great Depression and the Conrads moved in with his mother's brother, Edgerton Vinson in Devon and later to a small carriage house in St. Davids, Delaware County.
With the financial assistance of his Uncle Edgerton, Pete was enrolled in the Haverford School, but had difficulties with his studies due to dyslexia. In 11th grade, he was placed in the Darrow School in New Lebanon, New York where their style of teaching enabled Pete to excel so much that he was awarded a full Navy ROTC scholarship to Princeton University. He graduated in 1953 with a BS in Aeronautical Engineering and joined the Navy as an Ensign.
Conrad became an aircraft carrier pilot and flight instructor, and with the encouragement of astronaut Alan Shepard was convinced to apply for NASA's space program. He was accepted and selected to pilot the Gemini 5 capsule in 1965, and in 1969 became Commander of the Apollo 12 mission. Conrad became the third man to walk on the moon. His words for his first steps were, ""Oooh, is that soft and queasy."
Conrad died in a motorcycle accident in 1999, less than three weeks before the 30th anniversary of the first moon landing. He was buried with full honors at Arlington Cemetery near Washington, D.C.
