MITCHELL, S.D. (MITCHELLNOW) Charles Gemar is one of the famous South Dakotans depicted on the 2024 Corn Palace. He was a NASA Shuttle astronaut in the 1990’s.
Gemar graduated from high school in Scotland, South Dakota at 17 years old in 1973. He joined the Army and won an appointment to West Point. Gemar graduated with a degree in engineering in 1979. In 1985 he became just the fourth Army officer selected for the NASA space program. He trained for a year to become a Mission Specialist.
Gemar made flights as a mission specialist on the Atlantis in 1990, on the Discovery in 1991 and his last shuttle flight was in March of 1994 on the Space Shuttle Columbia. Gemar is a retired Army Lieutenant Colonel. He was in Mitchell to give a talk about his space experiences as part of the Corn Palace Festival and to be recognized as one of the famous South Dakotans on the Corn Palace. The other famous South Dakotans depicted on the Palace are Bob Barker, Mike Miller, Oscar Howe, Wild Bill Hickock, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Joe Foss and Becky Hammond.
Gemar said as a teenager he couldn’t wait to get out of Scotland and South Dakota. He said he’s been trying for 51 years to get back to the state. August 1, 2024, he did just that. Gemar and his wife moved to Sioux Falls to live out their retirement years.