Clifton Williams

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**Clifton 'C.C.' Williams**
Astronaut

Nationality	American
Born	September 26, 1932
Selection	1966 NASA Group
Mission(s)	None

This article is about the American astronaut. For the composer, see Clifton Williams (composer).

Clifton 'C.C.' Williams (September 26, 1932 - October 5, 1967) was a NASA astronaut and USMC Major who was killed after a mechanical failure caused the flight controls in a T-38 he was piloting to stop responding. The aircraft crashed in Florida near Tallahassee.

He was active in the Boy Scouts of America where he achieved its second highest rank, Life Scout. Williams graduated from Murphy High School, Mobile, Alabama, and received a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama. earned a B.S. in mechanical engineering from Auburn University in 1954. Having joined the Navy ROTC while at AU, he was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the Marine Corps on August 9 that year. He was an associate member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots and member of Pi Tau Sigma (national mechanical honorary, and Tau Beta Pi (national engineering society). He was married to Beth Lansche Williams and had two children, Catherine and Jane Dee.

He had previously served on the backup crew for Gemini X and had been assigned to the back-up crew for what would be the Apollo 9 mission. This crew placement would have most likely lead to an assignment as Lunar Module pilot for Apollo 12. After his death he was replaced on the Apollo 9 backup crew by Al Bean who had been his commander on the Gemini X backup crew.

The Apollo 12 mission patch has four stars on it - one each for the three astronauts who flew the mission, and one for Williams. Williams is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

In the 1998 miniseries From the Earth to the Moon Williams was played by Jim Leavy.