The first one to reach outer space in the Man In Space Soonest program was which Captain in the United States Air Force, an American World War II pilot, an experimental physicist, and NASA test pilot?
Man in Space Soonest:  The first, Joseph A. Walker, did so twice in two X-15 rocket plane tests in 1963. Joseph A. Walker:  Walker was a Captain in the United States Air Force, an American World War II pilot, an experimental physicist, a NASA test pilot, and a member of the U.S. Air Force Man In Space Soonest spaceflight program.
Joseph A. Walker