Lieutenant Commander Victor A. Prather Jr. was an American flight surgeon who took part in a government project to develop the space suit. On May 4, 1961, Prather drowned during the helicopter transfer after the landing of the Strato-Lab V balloon flight, which set an altitude record for manned balloon flight which stood until 2012.
Prather was born on June 4, 1926, in Lapeer, Michigan, to Victor Prather Sr. and Gladys May Furse. He attended Tufts College in 1943 and returned to Tufts at the end of WW11 and attended Tufts University School of Medicine, graduating there in 1952.
On May 4, 1961, at 7:08 am, Victor Prather, along with Cdr. Malcolm Ross, ascended in Strato-Lab High V from the flight deck of the USS Antietam to an altitude of 113,720 feet (34,668 meters) to test the Navy's Mark IV full-pressure suit.
The balloon, built by Winzen Research Inc. of Minneapolis, Minnesota was the largest that had ever been successfully launched.
The flight lasted 9 hours 54 minutes and covered a horizontal distance of 140 miles (230 km). Strato-Lab V landed at 4:02 pm in the Gulf of Mexico. A hovering helicopter lowered a rescue hook (or harness), and although Ross slipped partially out of it, he was able to recover without falling completely into the water. A few minutes later the helicopter returned to retrieve Prather. Prather climbed onto the rescue hook but was unable to secure himself. When the helicopter jerked upwards, he slipped off into the ocean. His flight suit then flooded, and he drowned before Navy divers could rescue him.
Shortly after Prather's death, President John F. Kennedy phoned Prather's widow, Virginia Merritt, and she arrived at the White House with her children, Marla Lee Prather and Victor A. Prather III. Kennedy posthumously awarded Victor Prather the Navy Distinguished Flying Cross for 'heroism and extraordinary achievement'. The balloonists were also awarded the 1961 Harmon Trophy for Aeronauts.
Prather was born on June 4, 1926, in Lapeer, Michigan, to Victor Prather Sr. and Gladys May Furse. He attended Tufts College in 1943 and returned to Tufts at the end of WW11 and attended Tufts University School of Medicine, graduating there in 1952.
On May 4, 1961, at 7:08 am, Victor Prather, along with Cdr. Malcolm Ross, ascended in Strato-Lab High V from the flight deck of the USS Antietam to an altitude of 113,720 feet (34,668 meters) to test the Navy's Mark IV full-pressure suit.
The balloon, built by Winzen Research Inc. of Minneapolis, Minnesota was the largest that had ever been successfully launched.
The flight lasted 9 hours 54 minutes and covered a horizontal distance of 140 miles (230 km). Strato-Lab V landed at 4:02 pm in the Gulf of Mexico. A hovering helicopter lowered a rescue hook (or harness), and although Ross slipped partially out of it, he was able to recover without falling completely into the water. A few minutes later the helicopter returned to retrieve Prather. Prather climbed onto the rescue hook but was unable to secure himself. When the helicopter jerked upwards, he slipped off into the ocean. His flight suit then flooded, and he drowned before Navy divers could rescue him.
Shortly after Prather's death, President John F. Kennedy phoned Prather's widow, Virginia Merritt, and she arrived at the White House with her children, Marla Lee Prather and Victor A. Prather III. Kennedy posthumously awarded Victor Prather the Navy Distinguished Flying Cross for 'heroism and extraordinary achievement'. The balloonists were also awarded the 1961 Harmon Trophy for Aeronauts.
Lieutenant Commander Victor A. Prather Jr. was an American flight surgeon who took part in a government project to develop the space suit. On May 4, 1961, Prather drowned during the helicopter transfer after the landing of the Strato-Lab V balloon flight, which set an altitude record for manned balloon flight which stood until 2012.
Prather was born on June 4, 1926, in Lapeer, Michigan, to Victor Prather Sr. and Gladys May Furse. He attended Tufts College in 1943 and returned to Tufts at the end of WW11 and attended Tufts University School of Medicine, graduating there in 1952.
On May 4, 1961, at 7:08 am, Victor Prather, along with Cdr. Malcolm Ross, ascended in Strato-Lab High V from the flight deck of the USS Antietam to an altitude of 113,720 feet (34,668 meters) to test the Navy's Mark IV full-pressure suit.
The balloon, built by Winzen Research Inc. of Minneapolis, Minnesota was the largest that had ever been successfully launched.
The flight lasted 9 hours 54 minutes and covered a horizontal distance of 140 miles (230 km). Strato-Lab V landed at 4:02 pm in the Gulf of Mexico. A hovering helicopter lowered a rescue hook (or harness), and although Ross slipped partially out of it, he was able to recover without falling completely into the water. A few minutes later the helicopter returned to retrieve Prather. Prather climbed onto the rescue hook but was unable to secure himself. When the helicopter jerked upwards, he slipped off into the ocean. His flight suit then flooded, and he drowned before Navy divers could rescue him.
Shortly after Prather's death, President John F. Kennedy phoned Prather's widow, Virginia Merritt, and she arrived at the White House with her children, Marla Lee Prather and Victor A. Prather III. Kennedy posthumously awarded Victor Prather the Navy Distinguished Flying Cross for 'heroism and extraordinary achievement'. The balloonists were also awarded the 1961 Harmon Trophy for Aeronauts.
Prather was born on June 4, 1926, in Lapeer, Michigan, to Victor Prather Sr. and Gladys May Furse. He attended Tufts College in 1943 and returned to Tufts at the end of WW11 and attended Tufts University School of Medicine, graduating there in 1952.
On May 4, 1961, at 7:08 am, Victor Prather, along with Cdr. Malcolm Ross, ascended in Strato-Lab High V from the flight deck of the USS Antietam to an altitude of 113,720 feet (34,668 meters) to test the Navy's Mark IV full-pressure suit.
The balloon, built by Winzen Research Inc. of Minneapolis, Minnesota was the largest that had ever been successfully launched.
The flight lasted 9 hours 54 minutes and covered a horizontal distance of 140 miles (230 km). Strato-Lab V landed at 4:02 pm in the Gulf of Mexico. A hovering helicopter lowered a rescue hook (or harness), and although Ross slipped partially out of it, he was able to recover without falling completely into the water. A few minutes later the helicopter returned to retrieve Prather. Prather climbed onto the rescue hook but was unable to secure himself. When the helicopter jerked upwards, he slipped off into the ocean. His flight suit then flooded, and he drowned before Navy divers could rescue him.
Shortly after Prather's death, President John F. Kennedy phoned Prather's widow, Virginia Merritt, and she arrived at the White House with her children, Marla Lee Prather and Victor A. Prather III. Kennedy posthumously awarded Victor Prather the Navy Distinguished Flying Cross for 'heroism and extraordinary achievement'. The balloonists were also awarded the 1961 Harmon Trophy for Aeronauts.
Gravesite Details
LT CMDR USN
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Advertisement
