John W. Aaron is a former NASA

NASA

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...

 engineer, and was a flight controller

Flight controller

Flight controllers are personnel who aid in the operations of a space flight, working in Mission Control Centers such as NASA's Mission Control Center, or ESA's Operations Center. Flight controllers sit at computer consoles and use telemetry to monitor in real time various technical aspects of a...

 during the Apollo program. He is widely credited with saving the Apollo 12

Apollo 12

Apollo 12 was the sixth manned flight in the American Apollo program and the second to land on the Moon . It was launched on November 14, 1969 from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, four months after Apollo 11. Mission commander Charles "Pete" Conrad and Lunar Module Pilot Alan L...

 mission when it was struck by lightning shortly after liftoff and played an important role during the Apollo 13

Apollo 13

Apollo 13 was the seventh manned mission in the American Apollo space program and the third intended to land on the Moon. The craft was launched on April 11, 1970, at 13:13 CST. The landing was aborted after an oxygen tank exploded two days later, crippling the service module upon which the Command...

 crisis, earning him the highly complimentary appellation of "a steely eyed missile man".
John Aaron was born in Wellington, Texas

Wellington, Texas

Wellington is a city in Collingsworth County, Texas, United States. The population was 2,275 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Collingsworth County.-Geography:Wellington is located at ....

 and grew up in rural Western Oklahoma near Vinson

Vinson, Oklahoma

Vinson is an unincorporated community in Harmon County, Oklahoma, United States. The community was named for Henry B. Vinson, townsite owner. Although it is unincorporated, Vinson has a post office, which was established on August 20, 1903. It remains operational with the ZIP code of...

 in Booger Hollow, one of the youngest in a family of eight children.