Air Force Plant 42 may be named for Pete Knight

Plant 42 may be named for Knight

By Jim Skeen

Staff Writer

http://www.dailynews.com/Stories/0,1...158953,00.html

PALMDALE -- Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael Antonovich wants to
honor late state Sen. W.J. "Pete" Knight by having Air Force Plant 42
named after him.

Antonovich has sent letters to President Bush, Defense Secretary
Donald Rumsfeld, Air Force Secretary James Roche, and Rep. Howard
"Buck" McKeon, R-Santa Clarita, suggesting the name change.

"Senator Knight excelled as an astronaut, a war hero, a community
leader and a state legislator," Antonovich said. "He leaves a legacy
of patriotism, public service and defense of families. Renaming Plant
42 in his name is a worthy tribute to an American patriot who served
his nation and dedicated his life to serving our Antelope Valley
community."

Knight died May 7, three weeks after he was diagnosed with leukemia.
His funeral service drew hundreds of admirers, including Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger, moon walker Buzz Aldrin, and Chuck Yeager, the first
man to break the sound barrier.

Air Force officials said they could not immediately comment on the
proposal.

Renaming Plant 42 would have to be approved by the installation's
parent command, Air Force Materiel Command, and by the Air Force Chief
of Staff and the Secretary of the Air Force.

Air Force naming criteria starts with national military heroes,
defined as those whose gallantry and heroism was above and beyond the
call of duty, such as Medal of Honor recipients; individuals who
performed highly responsible duties for the Air Force in an
outstanding manner; and those who have made significant contributions
to the development or mission of the Air Force.

Knight has been honored once before with Antelope Valley Union High
School District naming its new east Palmdale high school after him.

Knight had a distinguished 32-year Air Force career as both a test
pilot and as a fighter pilot. Knight logged more than 6,000 hours of
flying time in more than 100 types of aircraft. He earned three
Distinguished Flying Crosses in Vietnam.

At Edwards Air Force Base in 1967, Knight set a speed record of 4,520
mph in an X-15 rocket plane. Knight was one of eight X-15 pilots to
earn astronaut wings by flying the aircraft higher than 280,000 feet,
considered the edge of space.

Following his military career, Knight entered politics, serving as
Palmdale's mayor in the late 1980s and later representing the Antelope
Valley in the legislature, first as an assemblyman and then later as a
senator. Knight was in the final year of his last term as senator when
he died.