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ALUMNI NEWS
Alumni Profile
Joe Guion ’50
As most Americans were commemorating the 40 th
anniversary of the first man on the moon in July, Joe Guion
’50 had already celebrated the golden anniversary of his “15
minutes of fame” when he played a major role in a mission that
was a vital stepping stone in the Space Race.
Guion was typical of the vast majority of students that made
up King’s first freshman class in 1946; he had already served
a tour in the military and was attending King’s on the G.I.
Bill. He entered the U.S. Navy at the age of 17 and spent the
final years of World War II as a member of a gun crew on two
merchant ships deployed to the European Theater.
When he returned home in May 1946 to Northeastern
Pennsylvania, he intended to go to the University of Notre
Dame for his college studies but it was too late to apply for
that fall’s classes. His father had heard about King’s being
established by the Congregation of Holy Cross and Joe applied.
While earning his degree in economics, Joe was a varsity
athlete, a member of the Student Council and Glee Club, and
was the first person to don the Leo the Lion mascot uniform.
“The entire first class at King’s was infused with the sense
of being pioneers,” Guion said. “We didn’t have much in line
of facilities, but we felt like we were a part of something that
would last.”
Guion resumed active duty with the Navy in 1953 and had
various assignments, including an emergency deployment in the
North Atlantic during the Suez Crisis of 1956. He was given
command of his first ship, the USS Kiowa, a year later.
On May 28, 1959, Guion was given an assignment he
says became the highlight of his 30-year naval career, which
included command of two more ships and service in World War
II, the Korean War and the Cold War.
Guion and his crew were tasked with retrieving an object
from the Atlantic Ocean. The object would be landing in the
ocean after travelling 1,500 miles in 16 minutes and would have
two occupants. The names of the “astronauts” were not Glenn,
Armstrong, or even Gagarin, but Able and Baker.
The USS Kiowa was responsible for retrieving the capsule
that would hopefully contain the first monkeys to survive a trip
in space. The American space program had been trying for
more than 10 years to successfully send monkeys into space, but
all the flights failed for various reasons.
Guion knew the key to the monkeys’ survival was an efficient
and quick retrieval. Elements did not make that objective easy.
The missile was to land in the early morning hours, well before
sunrise; the wind was strong and the ocean rough.
“As the missile re-entered the atmosphere, it lit up the sky
bright enough to read a newspaper on the deck of the ship.”
Guion, with Baker, in 1959
The missile landed near its target, but the nose cone portion
which contained the monkeys separated. It took an hour for
Guion’s crew to spot the nose cone and another hour to bring it
aboard the ship. Guion used a large boom to retrieve the nose
section.
“As soon as I picked it up out of the water, it was flying all
over the place. The ship was rolling and the nose cone swung
back and forth on the boom. I was just hoping that nobody
would get hurt.”
Crew members quickly determined that Able, a rhesus
monkey, and Baker, a squirrel monkey, had survived the flight
and the re-entry.
Guion was invited to accompany the monkeys on their trip,
under military escort, to Washington for a news conference.
Able and Baker became instant media darlings; they even
appeared on the cover of Life magazine.
After leaving the Navy in 1973, Guion taught for 10 years
at a community college in Virginia Beach. He also became
heavily involved as a volunteer in church ministry, successfully
using methods he used to build community among his students
to form faith communities at a diocesan level. He received the
Papal Bene Merenti Medal for service to the Church.
Guion has also published two books. His first, Love Songs
on the Journey, consisted of poems and personal reflections. “It
was part of my grieving process after the death of my dear wife,
Magdalen.” His second book, Stolen Votes, published in 2008,
was a fictional account of a plot to rig a 1986 U.S. senatorial
election.
After surviving open heart surgery in April, Guion is “enjoying
life” by working at a church in Timonium, Maryland, and
writing a book detailing how people can stay motivated and
more involved with the Lord.
26 Pride ✦ Fall 2009