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Alan Shepard: 1st American in Space

President  Kennedy Awards Alan Shepard

President Kennedy Awards Alan Shepard

President John Kennedy gives Alan Shepard a medal, May, 1961. Shepard's hometown of Derry, N.H., nearly renamed itself Spacetown in his honor.

In this photo: John F. Kennedy, Alan B. Shepard

Photo: Joseph Scherschel./Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images

May 01, 1961