GodSpeed, Jolly Wally - Schirra dead at 84

MSNBC is reporting that Mercury Astronaut Wally Schirra has died. The only Mercury astronaut to command missions in all three Apollo era spacecraft, Schirra was known for his wisecracking personality and contentious command decisions that ruffled many a feather at NASA.

He commanded the first US rendezvous in space on Gemini 6, the first Apollo mission after the tragic fire that killed fellow Mercury astronaut Gus Grissom, and was Cronkite's right hand man in broadcasting Apollo missions and, of course, one of the original Mercury 7.

Schirra's death leaves John Glenn and SCott Carpenter as the only Mercury Seven astronauts to carry the fire.

Godspeed, Wally.

All the more reason we need to tell everyone's story before it's too late.