SB SPCL @ ARL $ARLX008
ARLX008 Roy Neal, K6DUE, SK

ZCZC AX08
QST de W1AW  
Special Bulletin 8  ARLX008
From ARRL Headquarters  
Newington CT  August 18, 2003
To all radio amateurs 

SB SPCL ARL ARLX008
ARLX008 Roy Neal, K6DUE, SK

Retired NBC News science correspondent, producer and executive Roy
Neal, K6DUE, of High Point, North Carolina, died August 15, after
undergoing major heart surgery three days earlier. He was 82.

Recognized as a leading news expert in spaceflight and science,
Neal--born Roy N. Hinkel--covered the early days of NASA's human
space flight program, including the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo
missions and the early shuttle flights. Neal's space news
experience, led him to become involved with the Space Amateur Radio
EXperiment (SAREX)--and Amateur Radio on the International Space
Station (ARISS) programs. A joint project of ARRL, AMSAT and NASA,
ARISS put Amateur Radio aboard space shuttles and developed the
first permanent ham station in space aboard the ISS. Neal chaired
the SAREX/ARISS Working Group and moderated ARISS international team
gatherings and, quite often, school group contact teleconferences.

Earlier this year, he was inducted into the CQ Amateur Radio Hall of
Fame for his role in persuading NASA officials to allow Amateur
Radio operation from space in the 1980s.

A Pennsylvania native, Neal began his broadcasting career at WIBG
radio in Philadelphia. He served as a combat infantry officer during
World War II and later became a program manager for the Armed Forces
Radio Network in Europe. After the war, he was a television pioneer
at WPTZ-TV in Philadelphia. He subsequently set up NBC's West Coast
news bureau.

Neal was an ARRL member and active amateur operator throughout his
adult life. Survivors include his wife Pat and sons David and Mark.
Arrangements are pending.
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