Virgil Ivan Grissom Lieutenant Colonel, United States Air Force |
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| Born April
3, 1926, he joined the United States Air Force in 1950 after graduating
from Purdue University. He served as a fighter pilot in the 334th
Interceptor Squadron during the Korean War, flying over 100 missions and
earning the Distinguished Flying Cross. In 1956, he graduated from the
U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School, Edwards Air Force Base, California, and
was subsequently one of the original Mercury Astronauts selected.
He was killed with Roger B. Chaffee and Edward White on January 27, 1967 at Cape Kennedy, Florida, during the testing of the Apollo I rocket. The flight was scheduled for February 21, 1967 and was to have been the beginning of U.S. efforts to put a man on the moon. A fire broke out in the cockpit and before they could be rescued all were killed. He was buried in Section 3 of Arlington National Cemetery, beside Roger Chaffee and just a short distance away from the first military air casualty, Thomas E. Selfridge.
For Complete Information On The Accident, Click Here
Gravesite Photo courtesy of Ron Williams
A final salute at the funeral of Astronaut "Gus" Grissom, by his comrades, from left to right, Colonel John Glenn, US Marine Corps, Captain Alan Shepherd, US Navy, Colonel Gordon Cooper, US Air Force, Commander Scott Carpenter, US Navy, and Commander John Young, US Navy.
Marching with Grissom's casket, are (from left) Christopher Kraft, NASA Director of Flight Operations; Young; Robert Gilruth, Director of the Manned Spacecraft Center; Carpenter; Glenn (beyond casket); Shepard; and Deke Slayton (in civilian clothes), now a NASA official. All astronauts except Young, Grissom's partner on Gemini 3, were in the original Mercury program. Updated: 3 December 2001 Updated: 3 February 2003 Updated: 23 August 2003 Updated: 29 February 2004 Updated: 26 March 2006 |
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