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I am the son of Lt. Col. James S. Simon, Jr. who died in an aircraft accident in Area-51 on September 26, 1967 during Project Oxcart.
I worked in Area-51 during the summer of 1967 in the Recreation Department. I also worked for EG&G at the NRDS during the summer of 1968.
I entered Georgia Tech in the Fall of 1967 and earned a Bachelor's Degree in Mechanical Engineering and a Master's Degree in Nuclear Engineering.
Was commissioned a Second Lieutenant through the ROTC program at Georgia Tech.
Entered USAF Pilot Training Class 7508 at Columbus AFB, Mississippi in June, 1974 and received my wings in June, 1975. First assignment was flying the T-33 at the 26th Air Division at Luke AFB, Arizona in the F-106 "lead in" program. Spent the next 3 years building flying time and experience at Luke.
Completed F-106 upgrade training in the Fall of 1978 at Tyndall AFB, Florida and was assigned to the 5th FIS at Minot AFB, North Dakota. Remained an F-106 pilot at Minot until separating from the Air Force in 1981.
After leaving the Air Force, I worked for Kaiser Aluminum in Spokane, Washington from 1981 until 2002. They went bankrupt, so I retired from Kaiser, cashed out my retirement settlement with them and went to work for a French-owned aluminum company in West Virginia two weeks later. I have been working at the West Virginia facility since early 2003 and plan to retire (again), then return to my permanent residence in Spokane, Washington in 2008.
I have been married since 1970 to Donna, my high school sweetheart and we have two grown and married daughters. Our eldest was born at Luke AFB in 1978 and resides with her husband and two children in Gig Harbor, Washington. My youngest daughter, born in 1981 at Minot, North Dakota, is a Doctor of Audiology and resides in Seattle, Washington with her husband.
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