It began as a childhood dream and took flight before he had even been to the Naval Academy. Through combat missions, test pilot school and into space— MajGen Charles Bolden ’68, USMC (Ret.) shares his remarkable story of how a single letter launched a journey he never could’ve imagined, nor will he forget. In this Legacy of Valor: Vietnam War video, Bolden, a 2018 Distinguished Graduate, shares how leadership and courage are built far beyond the battlefield—because sometimes, the hardest moments are what prepare us for liftoff.

Charles Frank Bolden Jr. is a former Administrator of NASA, a retired United States Marine Corps Major General, a former astronaut who flew on four Space Shuttle missions, and a graduate of the United States Naval Academy with the class of 1968.

Bolden was a Marine aviator flying the A-6 Intruder in combat in Vietnam, later becoming a test pilot, and later became an astronaut, flying four Space Shuttle missions. After his service as an astronaut, he became Deputy Commandant of Midshipmen at the Naval Academy.

On May 23, 2009, President Barack Obama announced the nomination of Bolden as Administrator of NASA.