HYPE Day: Captain James Lovell

James Lovell was born in Cleveland, Ohio on March 25, 1928. In his senior year in high school he was accepted in the Naval Aviation Holloway Plan and after two years at the University of Wisconsin, reported for flight training at Pensacola. During preflight training he received an appointment to the Naval Academy and reported in June 1948. CAPT Lovell reported again to Pensacola for flight training in September 1952, and was designated naval aviator T-4084 on 1 February 1954. His first assignment was Composite Squadron Three (VC-3) at Moffett Field California. In 1955 he was assigned to Team Jig, a night fighter team deployed on the USS Shangri-La.