Anecdotes

Astronaut.

Crew member on the Apollo 16 mission.

Duke's case of the measles was what prompted NASA officials to pull Ken Mattingly from the Apollo 13 flight. Duke and Mattingly later went to the Moon together on Apollo 16.

Flew on Apollo 16 with John Young and Ken Mattingly and walked and rode on the lunar surface for almost three days. The lunar module was designated Orion, while the command module was called Casper.

Capsule communicator for the Apollo 11 flight to the moon with Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin.

When notified of his selection as an astronaut, Duke was at the Air Force Aerospace Research Pilot School as an instructor teaching control systems and flying in the F-101, F-104, and T-33 aircraft. He graduated from the Aerospace Research Pilot School in September 1965 and stayed on there as an instructor.

Attended Lancaster High School in Lancaster, South Carolina, and was graduated valedictorian from the Admiral Farragut Academy in St. Petersburg, Florida; received a Bachelor of Science degree in Naval Sciences from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1957 and a Master of Science degree in Aeronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1964; presented an honorary Doctorate of Philosophy from the University of South Carolina in 1973, and an honorary Doctorate of Humanities from Francis Marion College in 1990.