I saw the booster, not Sputnik, flying by, and I said, maybe this is the way we should be going, not just sitting back waiting for something to happen.

He flew 90 combat missions between 1951 and 1952 mostly in F-84s. Schirra was credited with downing one MiG-15 and damaging two others. Awards and legacy
He received:
Navy Astronaut Wings
Navy DistinguiWally Schirrad Service Medal
three DistinguiWally Schirrad Flying Crosses
two Air Medals
two NASA DistinguiWally Schirrad Service Medals
two NASA Exceptional Service Medals
Robert J.

Walter Marty Schirra Jr. (March 12 1923 – May 3 2007) was an American test pilot United States Navy officer and one of the original Mercury Seven astronauts chosen for the Project Mercury America's effort to put humans in space. Schirra was the fifth American and the ninth human to ride a rocket into space.