The Mount Soledad Memorial Association will honor three-time astronaut and Navy pilot, the late Walter “Wally” Schirra, with a granite plaque at a Veterans Day service on Saturday, Nov. 7 at 11 a.m. at the Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial, 6905 La Jolla Scenic Drive South. Radio talk show host Mark Larsen, a close friend of Schirra’s, will lead the ceremony to honor Schirra, who died in 2007. The commander of the Navy Region Southwest, Rear Admiral William French, will deliver an address. The Navy Band Southwest will perform, and the San Diego Salute T-34 Formation Team will conduct a flyover. Schirra was one of the original seven Mercury astronauts chosen to fly in America’s first space program, becoming the ninth human to ride into space. Schirra went on to fly in the Gemini space program, and then commanded the Apollo 7 space mission in 1968. Thus, he became the only astronaut to have flown in the first three American space programs.    Schirra was born into an aviation family in Hackensack, N.J., in 1923. Schirra’s father was a barnstormer and his mother performed wing stunts. By the age of 15, Schirra was flying his father’s plane. Schirra graduated from the United States Navy Academy in 1945, and served aboard the battle cruiser USS Alaska during the final months of World War II. He then trained as a pilot at NAS Pensacola, and was sent to fly with the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War, wherein he flew 90 combat missions between 1951 and 1952, mostly in F-84s. Schirra was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with an oak leaf cluster for his service in Korea. After his tour in Korea, Schirra became a test pilot, and tested weapons systems such as the Sidewinder missile and the F7U-3 Cutlass jet fighter and the F-4 fighter. A free shuttle service will be provided to visitors from 10:30 a.m. to noon from the Mount Soledad Presbyterian Church, 6551 Soledad Mountain Road, or at the French-American School, 6550 Soledad Mountain Road.