NASA commends shooting incident survivor

Written on June 5, 2007 by Apogee

Award ceremonies at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston are usually genial affairs, with an auditorium full of civil servants and contractors applauding politely when each name is called. Employees receive awards for many accomplishments — meeting a tough deadline, troubleshooting a difficult technical issue, leading a team of engineers to sustained excellence, and so forth.

But when NASA contractor Fran Crenshaw’s name was called at a ceremony on June 5, the audience honored her with a standing ovation. The applause continued as she walked across the stage to receive a friendly embrace from Center Director Mike Coats. And everyone continued to applaud as she posed, certificate in hand, for a photo.

When Crenshaw finally left the stage and took her seat in the audience once more, many of her fellow employees were seen discretely wiping tears from their eyes.

Crenshaw received the award for an unprecedented accomplishment at JSC. She survived the April 20 hostage standoff that proved deadly to two of her coworkers. One, a distraught engineer with a grudge and a gun, took the life of NASA engineer David Beverly, then held Fran hostage for several hours before killing himself.

Crenshaw conducted herself throughout the ordeal with a degree of grace and strength anyone would envy. In a written statement published on April 24, NASA Director Michael Griffin praised her actions.

“On Saturday, JSC Director Mike Coats and I met with Houston Police officials, who informed us of the results of their investigation,” Griffin wrote. “They made a point of telling us that both David and Fran had acted ‘heroically,’ that they had done all they could, each trying to protect the other, and that they had simply never seen a calmer and more self-possessed individual than Fran in any similar situation … Houston Police Chief Hurtt stated that ‘not all of NASA’s heroes fly in space.’

A posthumus award for Beverly was on the award ceremony agenda, but his widow was not there to accept it. The long-married couple had booked a vacation cruise shortly before his death, and Mrs. Linda Beverly decided to take the cruise, carrying her husband’s ashes with her to scatter at sea.

Posted in NASA