NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Image above: Milt Holt, left, is the head of NASA Langley's Alumni Association, and his partner, Duncan McIver, is head of the NACA Reunion Committee. They are seeking an accounting of those left who worked for the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, forerunner of NASA. Credit: NASA/Sean Smith

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There will be memories made and shared, but only after a mystery is solved: How many former National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics employees are left?

Duncan McIver and Milt Holt, former employees and now contractors at NASA Langley Research Center, got a list of 2,300 from Victor Peterson at Ames Research Center after accepting the charge of coordinating NACA's final reunion. Peterson hosted the previous NACA reunion at Ames in 2005.

McIver, who chairs the NACA Reunion XII Planning Committee, and Holt sent letters to the 2,300 to determine interest in a May 2-4 event at NASA Langley and environs.

"We got back over 400 responses," McIver says. "Then we found out that we were hearing from people who weren't on the list. We're still getting calls from some, and that makes me wonder how many there really are."

The event marks the emotional end of NACA, an organization that began in 1915 and was its field's primary pioneer until being supplanted by NASA on Oct. 1, 1958.

That the reunion is being called "the last" is largely the product of time and mortality.

"The youngest retiree still with us is in his 70s," McIver says.

It's the 12th NACA reunion, and at the 11th, three years ago in San Jose, the oldest person among the 300 attending was in his 90s.

There are even some still working at NASA centers.

Image above: NACA Reunion XI page.

> 2005 Reunion Web Site

But, McIver asks, whom and where?

He cites the case of Jack Boyd, who worked with NACA for 11 years and also spans the entirety of NASA. He is in the Ames history office with 61 years of service.

"He says there's somebody else there who worked with NACA, too," McIver says.

Holt, who heads NASA Langley's Alumni Association, didn't work with NACA, but McIver has his wings.

The winged NACA logo is prized by the organization's retirees.

"I came to work here in July, 1958, before NASA, so I had a few months of NACA," McIver says. "When NASA began, it wasn't as emotional to me as to somebody who worked 10-20 years in NACA, but I'm proud I had a small footprint."

More than 300 have paid to attend, representing 28 states and the District of Columbia.

"That's enough to have a party," McIver says, laughing.

And the calls still come. "One day, a gentleman called for information and said he was coming," McIver says. "The next day, his daughter called for information and said, 'Daddy and I are coming.' "

Holt adds: "About every day, we're getting a call."

Technically, the deadline to register for the reunion was December 31, but Holt and McIver say they will accommodate those still interested. After all, many of the calls are part of the mystery.

Image above: NASA History Office NACA page.

> NASA History Office NACA page

Beyond that, they are seeking NACA employees they are calling "notables."

"These are people who made significant contributions (to the field of aviation and laid the groundwork for space exploration)," McIver says.

NASA's history department has suggested 28 such notables so far. "They've done a good job for us," Holt says.

There will be a program, but Holt and McIver are trying to limit it. "We're committed to making this an important and memorable event," McIver says. "...But we know that a lot of people will be here to see people they haven't seen in a long time. We don't want to make the program too rigid."

There'll be stories told, and -- both coincidentally and fortuitously -- NASA's history committee will be meeting at NASA Langley during the same week in May, making the reunion part of a confluence of events.

And, Holt adds, where better than at Langley? "NACA started with 12 people in 1915," he says. "Langley became its first center in 1917."

So NACA's last reunion is set, all but an accounting of all of those eligible to come. That's the mystery, one the organizers are seeking help to solve.

Jim Hodges
The Researcher News
NASA Langley Research Center