A Tribute to the American Astronauts Buried at Arlington National Cemetery
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Virgil Ivan "Gus" Grissom, a Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Air Force, was born on April 3, 1926 in Mitchell, Indiana. During the Korean War he flew 100 combat missions in F-86s with the 334th Fighter Interceptor Squadron.

Grissom and his crewmates, Roger Chaffee and Ed White, died on January 27, 1967 in a fire aboard the Apollo 1 spacecraft during a ground test at Pad 34, Cape Canaveral (then known as Cape Kennedy), Florida. Ed White, the third member of the Apollo 1 crew, is buried at the U.S. Military Academy, West Point, New York.

NASA Biography | Detailed

Space Flights:

• Mercury-Redstone 4, July 21, 1961. Liberty Bell 7, 2nd sub-orbital flight. The capsule sank after the hatch blew prematurely. The capsule was recovered in 1999 and is now on display at the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center
• Commander, Gemini 3, March 23, 1965. The Unsinkable Molly Brown, first manned flight of the Gemini series, with John Young

Total Hours in Space:

Astronaut Group: 1-April 9, 1959

Degrees: BS, Mechanical Engineering, Purdue University, 1950

Military Service & Awards: Served in World War II and Korea. Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with oak leaf cluster for his Korean service, two NASA Distinguished Service medals and the NASA Exceptional Service Medal; the Air Force Command Astronaut Wings.

Crew Photos, Apollo 1:

Section: 3
Grave: 2503-E front back
Grid: Q-15