** U S A. Roy Neal, K6DUE, SK (Aug 15, 2003) -- Retired NBC News
space correspondent, producer and executive Roy Neal, K6DUE, died
August 15 in High Point, North Carolina. He was 82. Neal underwent
major heart surgery August 12 and was reported to be recovering.
Recognized as a leading news expert in spaceflight and science, Neal
--born Roy N. Hinkel--covered all of the Mercury missions for NBC and
later reported the Gemini and Apollo missions and the space shuttle
flights. Capitalizing on his space news experience, Neal became
involved with the Space Amateur Radio EXperiment Working group.
SAREX--now Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS)--
is a joint project of ARRL, AMSAT and NASA that 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. Neal also was a regular visitor and sometime presenter
at Hamvention. He hosted the 1987 ARRL video production, New World Of
Amateur Radio, an overview of ham radio in space. A Pennsylvania
native, Neal's broadcasting career began 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. An ARRL member and active amateur operator all his adult
life, Neal enjoyed DXing and frequented all HF bands. He also enjoyed
VHF. Survivors include his wife Pat and sons David and Mark.
Arrangements are pending.