It is heard around the museum as artifacts and documents are processed and accessioned, that the Panama Canal has connections everywhere; and often, the connection is surprising.  As with the recent DISCOVERY shuttle launch, that was the case.

A fourth generation family member from an American workers’ family in Panama emphasizes the statement that Zonians, or “Zonies,” seem to be everywhere.  Dr. C. Robert Gibson, Jr., the son of Marie (Wright) Gibson and the late C. Robert and formerly of Gamboa, Canal Zone, is a member of the flight surgeon’s team at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Houston headquarters.  In that capacity, Dr. Gibson discovered that NASA Astronaut Dr. Scott E. Parazynski, who would be one of the mission specialists aboard the 23rd shuttle mission to the International Space Station, also has family ties to the Panama Canal. 
Parazynski’s connection to the Canal derives from his family ancestry, Colonel David Dubose Gaillard, a distinguished and widely acclaimed member of the US Army Corps of Engineers charged with the monumental task of cutting through the Continental Divide in Panama. The treacherous nine-mile strip of mountainous terrain, known as Culebra Cut, was later renamed Gaillard Cut in honor of Col. Gaillard, who died in 1913 before the Canal project was completed.

An intriguing aspect of the “Zonian” connection is that Gibson’s greatgrandfather and Parazynski’s ancestor, Col Gaillard, both were recipients of Roosevelt Medals, which were awarded to American Employees of the Panama Canal between 1904 and 1914. Even more intriguing for Parazynski was the fact that Gaillard’s son, David St. Pierre Gaillard, also received a medal for his work with the Panama Canal. It is rare to have two medal recipients in one family, much less a father-son combination.
In recognition of the great work accomplished by his ancestors during the building of the Canal, Parazynski took with him aboard the shuttle Discovery two Roosevelt Medals, one of which he intends to present to the Panama Canal Museum in Seminole and the other to the Panama Canal Authority in Panama. Also flown on the mission into space and to be presented, along with the medals, were an American flag and a Panamanian flag in honor of the two countries that made the Canal possible.

Roosevelt Medals were received with enthusiasm by employees who had served at least two years of continuous service during the Canal’s construction period. The obverse face of the medal carries the likeness of President Theodore Roosevelt, for whom the medal is named. The reverse face depicts an image of the Gaillard Cut, the seal of the Canal Zone and the phrase, “The Land Divided, the World United.”

On each medal is imprinted the name of the recipient, and for every two additional years of canal service, an individually-numbered bar was issued, which could be attached to the original medal. The Roosevelt medal was highly prized by the American employees. Despite the incredible hardships they experienced during the Canal’s construction, many a worker resisted the impulse to tell his boss, “I quit!” for fear of not completing the two-year period required to receive the medal or a bar. According to the record, there were awarded 7,391 Roosevelt medals; 3,883 first bars (indicating four years of service); 1,865 second bars (six years); 636 third bars (eight years); and only 41 fourth bars, signifying workers who had served the full ten-year construction period.
         
Col. Gaillard was presented a Roosevelt Medal with two service bars, Nos. 2477, 1508 and 1036, respectively.  His son was awarded medal number 6999. 
         
Thanks to Paul F. Ebdon, the museum was provided a valuable computerized database of all Roosevelt Medal recipients.