Astronaut Frank L. Culbertson, Jr., a Capt. USN, graduated from Holly Hill High School in 1967 and earned a BS degree in aerospace engineering from the US Naval Academy in 1971. He served as a naval aviator aboard USS Fox in the Gulf of Tonkin during the Vietnam War, aboard USS Midway in Japan, and aboard USS John F. Kennedy. He graduated with distinction from the US Naval Test Pilot School, was selected as an astronaut candidate in 1984, was inducted into the State of South Carolina's Order of the Palmetto in 1989, piloted shuttle mission STS-38 on 7-15-1990, commanded shuttle mission STS-51 on 9-21-1993, and served as director of Mir, joint American Russian space activities, in 1995.