Arnold Air Force Base, Tenn. -- For Owen Baskin, a summer internship at Arnold Air Force Base, headquarters of Arnold Engineering Development Complex, was supposed to be an opportunity to gain engineering experience, learn from experts in the field, and explore a place that had been part of his family's story for generations. He never expected it would also become a deeply personal connection to his grandfather just days after his passing.
Currently studying mechanical engineering at Tennessee Technological University, Baskin is working toward a degree in the field with an interest in working in the automotive industry one day. He is currently interning with Beyond New Horizons, the AEDC Test Operations and Sustainment contractor. Even with that goal in mind, accepting an internship at Arnold Air Force Base was an easy decision. Engineering runs deep in his family, and so does Arnold.
Both of his grandfather’s spent time working at the base, and today his father, Buck Baskin, and aunt, Donna Baksin, continue that legacy.
“This is a tremendous opportunity, and I’ve had a great experience,” Baskin said.
Throughout his internship, Baskin has had the chance to work alongside experienced engineers while being exposed to world-class technology and facilities few people ever get to see. From cutting-edge testing capabilities to specialized engineering projects, every assignment has offered a glimpse into the important work taking place on the installation.
One assignment, however, turned into something far more meaningful than he could have anticipated.
Baskin spent part of his internship working at the von Kármán Gas Dynamics Facility, or VKF, where he was given the task of helping organize decades of engineering drawings.
"I was organizing drawings," he explained. "They had a lot of drawings in binders and needed a central place online where they could find them more efficiently. I was putting them all in an Excel workbook with links to the drawings."
There was one drawing, however, that stopped him in his tracks. The name at the bottom of the page belonged to his grandfather, Wayne Morton.
“There were around six binders, and each one probably had 200 drawings in it,” he explained. “I wasn’t looking for a particular drawing, but I just flipped to his and then began to realize what I was looking at. I was really surprised and I sat there for a minute. I knew he had worked out here and was an electrical engineer. But during his career, he was in management, and I wasn’t expecting to see a drawing that he had done.”
What made the discovery even more remarkable was the timing.
“It’s from 1961, and he was my age when he drew it,” said Owen. “He was just 20 years old. This was when he was out here as an intern during the summer of ‘61. He was at Vanderbilt [University], so that would have been after his sophomore year, which is just the same as me. It’s crazy to me that 65 years later, we were working on the same things essentially.”
For Baskin, the discovery wasn't simply about finding an old engineering document. It was finding a piece of his grandfather’s story that had remained hidden for more than 60 years.
The timing also made the moment even more emotional as Morton had passed away only about a month before Baskin found the drawing.
The two shared a close relationship, and Morton had been one of the people who encouraged his grandson to pursue engineering.
“It was a proud moment,” he said. “And while it's not completely relevant, I was listening to jazz music while I was organizing the files. He was really into jazz music, and he got me into jazz as well.”
Those unexpected details made the experience feel even more personal.
For Baskin, the drawing now represents much more than lines on paper. It represents family, legacy, and the shared passion for engineering that spans generations.
Baskin added that his internship has given him a broader appreciation for Arnold Air Force Base itself. Although much of his family has worked there, he admits he never fully understood the scope of the work taking place behind the gates.
“It has opened my eyes to all the different possibilities,” he said. “Even with so much of my family working out here, I really didn’t understand everything that went on out here. It is incredible to see the range of things that take place at Arnold.”
Although, Baskin has plans to pursue a career in the automotive industry, he said his experience at Arnold has shown him just how many paths an engineering degree can lead to. It has also left him with a most cherished memory of the grandfather who inspired him to become an engineer in the first place.