Who Could Ever Compete With The Moon? The True Stories Of The Astronaut Wives Club

Their Bond Saved Their Lives – But Not All Of Them

Photo by Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

While the men had changed, so had the women – some beyond repair. The women always looked after each other, bringing round Tupperware meals while the men were away and popping champagne when they landed safely back on earth. Unfortunately, despite their lifelong bond, some of the women couldn’t cope.

Pat White, wife of Ed White (who tragically died in the same accident that killed Gus Grissom and Roger Chaffee in 1967) committed suicide a week before the 1991 reunion of the AWC. Pat had never been able to get over her husband’s passing. Dotty Duke, the wife of Charlie Duke, also had suicidal thoughts when her husband was dispatched on a mission. Dotty claims the only thing that saved her life was the Astronaut’s Wives Club.