White Sands Missile Range announces 2023 Hall of Fame inductees

Leah Romero, Las Cruces Sun-News
·3 min read
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WHITE SANDS MISSILE RANGE ― White Sands Missile Range recently announced its 2023 nominees for the Hall of Fame, to be inducted in a ceremony in September.

WSMR has been growing its Hall of Fame since its founding in 1980 by Major General Duard D. Ball. The award honors civilian, military and contractor personnel for “outstanding contributions made during their tenure at WSMR,” according to the website.

Hall of Famers have all made contributions to the success of the “mission” of WSMR and/or to the technological capability of the installation. Inductees receive a medal and certificate during the ceremony and are presented with an American flag.

According to Jim Eckles, a 2013 Hall of Fame inductee and member of the WSMR Historical Foundation, the 2023 inductees are Jean Simpkins and William Rice. The decision was made by a committee of WSMR personnel, members of the WSMR Historical Foundation and Brig. Gen. Eric Little, WSMR commander.

There are 53 members in the Hall of Fame, including WSMR commanders, scientists, public affairs officers, historians and technicians.

Jean Simpkins

Jean Simpkins of El Paso, nominated as a 2023 inductee of the White Sands Missile Range Hall of Fame.
Jean Simpkins of El Paso, nominated as a 2023 inductee of the White Sands Missile Range Hall of Fame.

Simpkins was originally from Galveston, Texas and worked at WSMR for over 30 years, from 1952 to 1984 when she retired.

According to the news release, “(Simpkins) is being recognized for her outstanding work as the missile range’s real estate specialist where she managed the complicated world of land leases, purchases, payments, and court judgements.”

Simpkins worked closely with land owners, authorizing payments to them for use of their land, damage claims and evacuations related to the installation’s work.

“She was often praised for her diplomacy in dealing with land owners,” the news release reads. “She felt ranchers deserved to be treated with respect and she made sure other officials at White Sands followed her example.”

She also created a map of White Sands and surrounding areas to explain land ownership relationships. The map is part of the New Mexico Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum’s “Home on the Range: From Ranches to Rockets” exhibit.

Simpkins died in May 2023 in El Paso at the age of 94. She is quoted in her obituary as saying, “‘It was an exciting time to work at WSMR,’ she said. ‘We were all so proud to be involved, and we gave it all we had for love of our country.’”

Simpkins will be the fifth woman inducted in the the WSMR Hall of Fame.

William Rice

William Rice of Las Cruces, nominated as a 2023 inductee of the White Sands Missile Range Hall of Fame.
William Rice of Las Cruces, nominated as a 2023 inductee of the White Sands Missile Range Hall of Fame.

Rice worked at WSMR from 1960 until retiring in 1995. According to the news release, Rice started his WSMR career as a New Mexico State University student finishing a computer science degree.

“Rice is being inducted for his work perfecting some of the latest cutting-edge technology used to test missile systems at White Sands,” the news release reads.

Rice became known as “Mr. Real-Time” for his work in real-time computing. He worked with computer-data systems, ensuring computers could collect, process and display information instantly. This allows missile test data be sent to an officer who can quickly react in potentially disastrous situations.

He also helped to develop the Drone Formation Control System. The news release explained that this system involved computers and data systems to fly aircraft used as missile targets for systems such as Patriot – a system still in use today.

During his time at WSMR, Rice was also chief of telemetry, which involves collecting test data and “radioing” the data to other devices.

The induction ceremony is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. Sept. 13 at WSMR’s Frontier Club. To make a reservation, call the WSMR Protocol Office at 575-678-1028.

More information about the WSMR Hall of Fame and its inductees can be found online at wsmrmuseum.com/wsmr-historical-foundation-hall-of-fame.

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Leah Romero is the trending reporter at the Las Cruces Sun-News and can be reached at 575-418-3442, LRomero@lcsun-news.com or @rromero_leah on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: White Sands Missile Range announces 2023 Hall of Fame inductees