A leader in Strategic Defense Initiative public affairs, Mr. Edward Harris Vaughn was inducted into the U.S. Air, Space, and Missile Defense Distinguished Civilian Wall of Honor as a part of the opening reception for the 8th Annual Space and Missile Defense Conference held at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center on Monday evening, the fifteenth of August, 2005.
Assisting in the induction ceremony were the Honorable Robert B. Aderholt, United States House of Representatives, and Lieutenant General Larry Dodgen, Commanding General of the U. S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command.
Mr. Vaughn joined the Army’s ballistic missile defense program and the public affairs field in 1968 and directed the public affairs activities of the U.S. Army Strategic Defense Command (USASDC) and its predecessors from 1977 to July 1986. With the expansion of the command’s mission under the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), he managed the command’s Public Affairs Office located in Huntsville, Alabama until January 1997. Mr. Vaughn retired in 1997, after twenty-nine years of government service.
After working in the radio and television industry for 10 years (including a stint as news director and news anchor at WHNT-TV, Channel 19, in Huntsville), Mr. Vaughn became a script writer for the Television Department of the United States Army Missile and Munitions Center and School at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama.
With the several-fold expansion of the command’s mission under SDI, he headed one of the command’s two Public Affairs Offices. Though the Command was headquartered in the National Capital Region (NCR), the majority of the Command’s personnel were assigned to Huntsville. While a Public Affairs Officer, Mr. Vaughn was a spokesperson for the command, authored a number of articles, and prepared speeches for various publications and venues.
Mr. Vaughn was a dedicated employee who gave his best effort in all tasks and assignments. His superior contributions were evidenced when he was awarded the Army Commander’s Award for Civilian Service, not once, but twice.
Mr. Vaughn was the 33rd member of the U.S. Air, Space, and Missile Defense Distinguished Civilian Wall of Honor.
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