S81-39418 (10 Nov. 1981) --- Aware that astronaut Richard H. Truly, pictured, would be difficult to reach on his 44th birthday Nov. 12, pupils at Carver-Jones Elementary School in Baytown, Texas made certain the STS-2 pilot got his birthday card early. Some art pupils of Shirley Dynum got together and decided that they?d like to custom-make Truly a nice remembrance for a day expected to be filled with remembrances. Nov. 12 is also the date for launch of NASA?s second space shuttle flight in the space shuttle Columbia, with astronauts Truly and Joe H. Engle, commander, at the flight deck. In fact, only moments after this photo was taken, the two departed from JSC to Ellington Air Force Base from which they took T-38 flights to the launch facility in Florida. Photo credit: NASA