Flight Surgeon of Mercury 7 wrote to Bulova with design of new watch

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1959, human anatomy lesson for NASA astronaut Walter Schirra by Dr William K Douglas, flight surgeon explaining what flying does to the brain
(Photo: NASA)
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This interesting topic needs more NASA photos:
May 1961 Dr William K Douglas during a medical checkup with astronaut Alan B Shepard (Mercury Redstone mission).
(Photo: NASA)
. #MoonwatchUniverse
 
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This interesting topic needs more NASA photos:
May 1961 Dr William K Douglas during a medical checkup with astronaut Alan B Shepard (Mercury Redstone mission).
(Photo: NASA)
. #MoonwatchUniverse

Here's a document that i was bidding on but didn't win. In hindsight, i should have kept bidding, as these are actual EKG readings and not photocopies.

This shows that Douglas did ride the centrifuge:

 
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Next up, wrist calendars! [ @TLIGuy ]

Dr. Douglas discovered wrist calendars and thought they were the bee's kness!

 
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Next up, Chimpanzee head.

Apparently, he received a Chimpanzee head in the mail.
 
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Next up, Gordon Cooper sang in space?

 
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Next up, Prime Minister Ky, who ruled South Vietnam from 1965 to 1967 in a military junta, requests an autograph by Gordo.

The request came from J. W. Humpteys. In June 1965 he was assigned to Vietnam with the U.S. Agency for International Development as the assistant director for public health. During this assignment he was awarded the highest decoration given to foreigners by the Government of Vietnam, the National Order of Vietnam, Third Class, and also the Military Medal of Valor with Palm, and the Vietnamese Special Forces Parachutist Badge.

On June 1, 1967, General Humphreys assumed his present assignment as director of space medicine, Manned Space Flight, NASA, Washington, D.C.



Edit:

Found a follow-up letter from Dr Douglas stating that "In regard to an autographed picture for Marshal Ky. I thought I had this one greased through my NASA friends, but I got a call a couple of days ago in which I was informed that NASA felt that it would not be too smart from a diplomatic viewpoint to give Marshall Ky such a personal memento..."

Edited:
 
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Next up, thoughts about how to medically treat Gemini astronauts if they were injured. This was interesting to me.

 
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Next up, letter to John Glenn thanking him for the corn cob pipe.

 
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@pdxleaf Wow, amazing find and thanks for sharing. You know I’m a huge calendar guy👍

Never has so much been written about something so small. Love this find!!!
 
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Illustrating this topic, a special feeling & privilege as some amazing NASA photographs exist:
1961, Mercury-Redstone 4 " Liberty Bell 7 " with USAF Captain astronaut Virgil Ivan "Gus" Grissom, another 15 minutes sub-orbital flight so Grissom didn't wear a wrist watch but Dr Bill Douglas wore a wrist watch and 7 months later, during John Glenn's mission a watch on what looks like a JB Champion steel mesh bracelet.
(Photo: NASA) #MoonwatchUniverse
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February 1962, first orbital flight for a NASA astronaut, US Marine Corps Colonel John Glenn on "Friendship 7" ( 4 Hours 55 minutes )
NASA flight surgeon Dr William Douglas praying for a safe re-entry through Earth's atmosphere.
The flight surgeon meet up with John Glenn post-recovery on Grand Turk island - Lucayan archipelage off the coast of Florida.
(Photos: NASA)
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Grand Turk island
John Glenn wearing the Timex wrist watch he received onboard U.S.S. Randolph

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February 1962, first orbital flight for a NASA astronaut, US Marine Corps Colonel John Glenn on "Friendship 7" ( 4 Hours 55 minutes )
NASA flight surgeon Dr William Douglas praying for a safe re-entry through Earth's atmosphere.
The flight surgeon meet up with John Glenn post-recovery on Grand Turk island - Lucayan archipelage off the coast of Florida.
(Photos: NASA)
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Grand Turk island
John Glenn wearing the Timex wrist watch he received onboard U.S.S. Randolph

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These are great pictures.

When I first read a mention of the Grand Turks in his file, I didn't understand the significance and had to look up the connection. There is still a museum at the Grand Turks related to Glenn, should anyone be lucky enough to visit:
https://www.tcmuseum.org/culture-history/space-race/john-glenn/

In this picture with Deke Slayton, he is still scheduled to fly and hasn't been grounded. The investigation begins the following month and his life will be forever changed. So will Dr. Douglas's life, as he will resign his post as chief physician a few months after in protest over Deke's grounding. Of course, John Glenn’s life was never the same as he was considered too valuable to be allowed to fly again into space as he was from then on idolized by the world. He wouldn't fly again until that 1998 Shuttle Discovery flight.

But at this moment, there is no Chief of the Astronaut role assumed by Deke. That role is effectively filled by Dr. Douglas. Deke is one of the guys, listening to Glenn thinking he's next. Quite a moment in time. Such great pictures.

Here's a letter in his file that mentions the Grand Turks. In later letters, Dr. Douglas maintained a friendship with several people he met there and shared news.

 
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In this preflight MA-6 training photo with astronaut John Glenn, I first thought that NASA flight surgeon Dr William K Douglas (1922-1998) wore an Accutron tuning fork wrist watch. But the watch has a tiny crown... still don't know what it was 👎
https://www.nmspacemuseum.org/inductee/william-k-douglas/
(Photo: NASA)
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Probably impossible to say from the detail. I'd like to think it's a Glycine Airman if it wasn't an Accutron.
 
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My favorite NASA photo showing the Zodiac Seawolf automatic wrist watch of flight surgeon Dr William K Douglas. #MoonwatchUniverse
(photo: NASA)
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