Editing Elliot See (section)

==Navy service and General Electric==
[[File:LT(jg) Elliot See.jpg|thumb|upright|left| See as a [[lieutenant (junior grade)]] during his tour of duty on {{USS|Boxer|CV-21|6}}]]
After graduation, See took a summer job with [[Lykes Brothers Steamship Company]]. On September 1, 1949, he joined the Aircraft Gas Turbine Division of General Electric, the firm his father had worked for, in [[Boston]]. He moved to [[Cincinnati, Ohio]], when the division was relocated.{{sfn|Burgess|Doolan|Vis|2003|pp=40–41}} There he met Marilyn Jane Denahy from [[Georgetown, Ohio]], who worked at General Electric as a secretary.<ref>{{cite magazine |magazine=[[Life (magazine)|Life]] |title=Head Over Heels for What's Out There |pages=30–39, 81–90 |date=September 27, 1963 |volume=55 |issue=19 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NFIEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA86 |access-date=May 10, 2019 }}</ref> He and his friend Tay Haney pooled their funds to buy a [[Luscombe Silvaire Sprayer]] aircraft, which they flew on cross-country trips. In November 1952, while taking Marilyn on a joyride, the Luscombe's engine began to fail. See attempted to land the aircraft on a short, unimproved field, but the tail wheel snagged a power line and forced the aircraft into the ground. See suffered deep cuts to his face which required [[plastic surgery]]. Marilyn escaped the crash with only minor injuries.{{sfn|Burgess|Doolan|Vis|2003|pp=40–41}}

By 1953, See was working as a [[flight test engineer]] at General Electric's plant in [[Evendale, Ohio]]. Like many naval reservists, he was called to [[active duty]] due to the [[Korean War]]. He was initially stationed at [[Miramar Naval Air Station]] near [[San Diego, California]].{{sfn|Burgess|Doolan|Vis|2003|pp=40–41}}<ref name="bios">{{cite news |newspaper=NASA Roundup |volume=1 |issue=24 |date=September 19, 1962 |pages=1, 4–5 |title= MSC Names Nine New Pilot Trainees |url=https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/roundups/issues/62-09-19.pdf |access-date=May 7, 2019 }}</ref> He married Marilyn on September 30, 1954, before shipping out for a sixteen-month operational tour as a [[naval aviator]], flying the [[Grumman F9F Panther]] with [[VA-52 (U.S. Navy)|Fighter Squadron 144]] (VF-144), part of [[Carrier Air Wing Fourteen|Carrier Air Group 14]]. He was deployed to the [[Mediterranean]] on the [[aircraft carrier]] {{USS|Randolph|CV-15|6}}, which returned to the United States in June 1955.{{sfn|Burgess|Doolan|Vis|2003|pp=41–43}}<ref>{{cite web |publisher=Naval Historical Center |work=A Brief History of Aircraft Carriers |title=USS ''Randolph'' (CV 15) |url=https://www.navy.mil/navydata/ships/carriers/histories/cv15-randolph/cv15-randolph.html |access-date=May 9, 2019 |archive-date=October 7, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171007174141/http://www.navy.mil/navydata/ships/carriers/histories/cv15-randolph/cv15-randolph.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In October, after further training at [[Naval Air Facility El Centro|El Centro Naval Air Station]], [[California]], he embarked with VF-144 on an operational cruise on the aircraft carrier {{USS|Boxer|CV-21|6}}, which formed part of [[Task Force 77 (United States Navy)|Task Force 77]]. The task force traveled to [[Hawaii]], [[Japan]], the [[Philippine Islands]], and [[Hong Kong]].{{sfn|Burgess|Doolan|Vis|2003|p=42}} See primarily focused on line maintenance, but also became proficient at carrier landings.{{sfn|Burgess|Doolan|Vis|2003|pp=41–43}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.navysite.de/cruisebooks/cv21-56/index.html |title=USS ''Boxer'' (CVA 21) WestPac Cruise Book 1955–56 |website=U.S. Navy |access-date=May 10, 2019 }}</ref> By the end of the tour, he had reached the rank of [[lieutenant commander (United States)|lieutenant commander]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.americaspace.com/2016/02/27/a-very-great-honor-50-years-since-the-accident-which-changed-project-gemini-part-1/ |title='A Very Great Honor': 50 Years Since the Accident Which Changed Project Gemini (Part 1) |website=AmericaSpace |first= Ben |last=Evans |date=February 27, 2016 |access-date=May 10, 2019 }}</ref> He returned home in February 1956, in time for the birth of his first child, Sally.{{sfn|Burgess|Doolan|Vis|2003|pp=41–43}} The couple later had two more children: Carolyn in 1957, and David in 1962.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.astronautsmemorial.org/elliot-m-see-jr-honored.html |title=Elliot M. See Jr. |website=[[The Astronauts Memorial Foundation]], The Center for Space Education |access-date=October 9, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170706004525/http://www.astronautsmemorial.org/elliot-m-see-jr-honored.html |archive-date=July 6, 2017 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

See rejoined General Electric in 1956 as a flight test engineer after his tour of duty. He became a group leader and experimental test pilot at [[Edwards Air Force Base]], California, where the [[United States Air Force]] conducted flight tests.{{sfn|Burgess|Doolan|Vis|2003|pp=41–43}} He served as a project pilot for the development of the [[General Electric J79]]-8 engine used in the [[F4H]] aircraft. He also conducted [[Aircraft engine|powerplant]] flight tests on the [[General Electric J47|J-47]], [[General Electric J73|J-73]], [[J-79]], [[General Electric CJ805|CJ805]] and CJ805 [[turbofan|aft-fan]] engines, which involved flying in [[F-86]], [[Douglas F4D Skyray|XF4D]], [[F-104]], [[Grumman F11F-1F Super Tiger|F11F-1F]], [[RB-66]], F4H, and [[Northrop T-38 Talon|T-38]] aircraft.<ref name="NASA Bio" /> He worked towards his [[master's degree]] one night a week, starting in 1960,<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=300EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA9|title=Picture of the Week|magazine=[[Life (magazine)|Life]]|date=September 28, 1962|publisher=Time|issn=0024-3019|volume=53|issue=13|page=9}}</ref> eventually obtaining a [[Master of Science]] degree in [[aeronautical engineering]] from [[UCLA]] in 1962,<ref name="bios" /> and continued flying with the Naval Reserve. He was eventually promoted to [[commander (United States)|commander]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.americaspace.com/2016/02/28/50-years-since-the-accident-which-changed-project-gemini-part-2/ |title='A Very Great Honor': 50 Years Since the Accident Which Changed Project Gemini (Part 2) |website=AmericaSpace |first= Ben |last=Evans |date=February 28, 2016 |access-date=May 10, 2019 }}</ref>