1Honoring and congratulating Dr. Guion S. Bluford, Jr., for his
2many accomplishments.

3WHEREAS, Dr. Guion S. Bluford, Jr., (Colonel, USAF, Ret.),
4was born in 1942 in West Philadelphia, was an Eagle Scout in the
5Boy Scouts of America and graduated from Overbrook Senior High
6School in 1960; and

7WHEREAS, Dr. Bluford received a doctor of philosophy and a
8master's degree with distinction in aerospace engineering from
9the Air Force Flight Institute of Technology, a master's degree
10in business administration from the University of Houston and a
11bachelor of science degree in aerospace engineering from The
12Pennsylvania State University; and

13WHEREAS, Dr. Bluford flew 144 combat missions as a fighter
14pilot in the United States Air Force and logged more than 5,200
15hours of jet flight and won several medals, including the

1Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm; and

2WHEREAS, Dr. Bluford became the first African American in
3space on August 30, 1983, aboard the space shuttle Challenger;
4and

5WHEREAS, Dr. Bluford went to space a total of four times,
6completed 518 orbits of the Earth and logged more than 688 hours
7in space; and

8WHEREAS, Dr. Bluford retired from NASA and the United States
9Air Force in 1993 and became the vice president of microgravity
10research and development operations for Logicon Operations and
11Services, a company of Northrop Grumman; and

12WHEREAS, Dr. Bluford was inducted into the International
13Space Hall of Fame and received more than 50 special honors
14including The Pennsylvania State University Alumni Association's
15Distinguished Alumni Award for his outstanding achievement as an
16astronaut, officer and scholar; and

17WHEREAS, Dr. Bluford is married to Linda Tull and has two
18sons, Guion III and James; therefore be it

19RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives honor Dr. Guion
20S. Bluford, Jr., and congratulate him on his many
21accomplishments.