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Gary C. Hitt
Mr. Gary Hitt, a former cadet at Arlington State College, is honored for his service to the United States Army and his community, and for his professional achievements during a long and distinguished career in the Aerospace Industry. A native of Fort Worth, Mr. Hitt enrolled at Arlington State College in 1956. While at ASC, he earned the Superior Cadet Award in his freshman and sophomore years, and served as Cadet Corps Commander, Sam Houston Rifles Commander and President of the Cadet Officers Club. In his junior year at The University of Texas (Austin), Mr. Hitt commanded the Ranger Drill Team, received the Superior Cadet Award and the Chicago Tribune Award, and was the Most Outstanding Cadet at the Corps of Engineers ROTC Summer Camp at Fort Leonard Wood MO. As a senior, he was Corps Commander at the University of Texas; he received the Superior Cadet Award and the Tom Miller Saber Award, was a Distinguished Military Student and a Distinguished Military Graduate. In 1961, Mr. Hitt graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Physics, with Honors, a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Mathematics, with High Honors, and was commissioned in the United States Army Reserve as a Second Lieutenant in the Ordnance Corps.
Mr. Hitt completed Army training courses at Aberdeen Proving Ground MD, Fort Benning GA, and Redstone Arsenal AL, during which he received awards for outstanding leadership and academic achievement. He served three years active duty at Redstone Arsenal where, as a First lieutenant, he was the Air Defense Plans Officer for the US Army Ordnance Guided Missile School. He coordinated installation and upgrades of missile systems and test equipment to train US and foreign personnel on the Nike Hercules and IHAWK air defense missile systems. Mr. Hitt also served as a Platoon Leader, Summary Court Officer, and court martial board member. His military awards include the Army Commendation Medal and Parachutists Badge. He was promoted to Captain in the Standby Reserve.
Mr. Hitt began his aerospace career with TRW as a Task Manager for the Apollo Project. In his 28 year career, he made engineering and management contributions to programs of national and international importance, including the Apollo lunar landings, the Minuteman ICBM Program, the first landing of a US spacecraft on the planet Mars (Viking Project), and the Spacelab Project. He served as both an engineer and a Project Manager for TRW space and missile system projects for NASA, the US Air Force, and the US Army. Mr. Hitt retired in 1994 as Deputy Project Manager for TRW’s Spacelab Project. He managed engineering groups that delivered flight computer and ground computer software for twelve Spacelab missions that flew on the NASA Space Shuttle. These missions were international efforts involving NASA, the European Space Agency, the space agencies of Germany and Japan, and aerospace companies, universities and scientists around the world. Mr. Hitt received NASA citations for his work on the Apollo Project, the Viking Project and Spacelab Project, and for his contributions to the SPACE Council for Excellence.
After retiring, Mr. Hitt worked to establish and develop Sci-Quest, a hands-on science museum for children in Huntsville, AL. He and his wife Barbara are the parents of Laura Hitt, an attorney, and Karen Hit Allen, an architect. Mr. Hitt’s performance as a cadet while at Arlington State College, his achievements in service to his country and his community, both in the military and aerospace fields, has brought great credit and recognition upon himself and to the University of Texas at Arlington.