What was Alan B Shepherd Jr's claim to fame?

Answer 1

He was the 2nd Man into space after Russia's Yuri Gargarin

He was one of the 7 original astronauts by NASA

First American in space with the Mercury Project. He named his capsule Freedom 7 and was launched on a Redstone rocket.

According to Gene Kranz in Failure is Not an Option, When reporters asked Shepard what he thought about as he sat atop the Redstone rocket, waiting for liftoff, he had replied, the fact that every part of the ship was built by the lowest bidder."

He and his crew was bumped from the Apollo 13 mission after inner ear problems.

He was the commander of Apollo 14.

He was the 5th person to walk on the Moon

He was a Rear Admiral in USN

He was a test pilot.

Helpful places to check would be NASA bios.

Answer 2

Alan B. Shepard Jr. was the first American to travel into space when he piloted the Freedom 7 spacecraft on a suborbital flight in 1961. He later became the fifth person to walk on the moon during the Apollo 14 mission in 1971.