Erika Callahan Vice President of Marketing and Visitor Experience | Official Website
Erika Callahan Vice President of Marketing and Visitor Experience | Official Website
Jan Davis, a former space shuttle astronaut, is set to share a personal story connecting her father's experiences as a World War II bomber pilot with her own spaceflights in the 1990s. The event will take place on December 7 and will also serve as an introduction to her new book, "Air Born: Artistic Musings of a WWII Pilot and POW." This work is a companion piece to "Two Generations," highlighting her father Ben Smotherman's wartime writings and artwork.
Ben Smotherman was a B-17 pilot during World War II who was shot down in 1943. He spent 22 months as a prisoner of war (POW) during which he maintained a journal and created paintings and sketches. In 2020, Davis decided to write about him, aiming to bring his stories and art into the public eye. While exploring her father's logs, she found connections between their lives—his as a pilot and hers as an astronaut. The resulting book explores these links between flight and family.
Davis's career at NASA included extensive training, flying NASA jets, and completing three spaceflights from 1992 to 1997. She logged over 673 hours in orbit before retiring from NASA in 2005 after working at its Headquarters and Marshall Space Flight Center.
The program on December 7 will begin at 2 p.m., featuring an audience Q&A session followed by a book signing. Attendance is free for Museum Members and included with general admission.
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