Just fantastic. Andy posted a couple of great b&w photos of this "Young Space Pioneer" taken by veteran photojournalist Arthur Rickerby in 1962 the same year John Glenn became the first American to orbit the earth, but the entire set is really worth a visit.
Who Bradford is, where in Virginia he was, why he alone dressed up as an astronaut that day, and why he was allowed to stand on the table in school? These are just a few of LIFE's many mysteries. [Though I do have a hunch. Stay tuned.]
Young Space Pioneer in Astronaut Suit, VA., 1962 by Arthur Rickerby for LIFE Magazine [LIFE at Google via stork bites man]
