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VIRGIL "GUS" GRISSOM
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Born April 3, 1926 in
Mitchell, Indiana. Gus earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical
engineering from Purdue University. Grissom and his wife, Betty
Moore Grissom, have two children, Scott and Mark. |
Lieutenant Colonel
Grissom was one of the original seven Mercury astronauts selected by
NASA in 1959. He piloted the "Liberty Bell 7" spacecraft, the second
suborbital Mercury test flight, on July 21, 1961. On March 23, 1965
Grissom served as command pilot on the first manned Gemini flight, a
3-orbit mission. He subsequently served as backup command pilot for
Gemini 6, and he was chosen to serve as command pilot for the first
three-manned Apollo flight, Apollo 1.
Grissom had flown 100 combat missions with the 334th Fighter Interceptor
Squadron in Korea and earned both the Air Medal with cluster and the
Distinguished Flying Cross. During a countdown simulation in preparation
for the scheduled launch of the Apollo 1 mission, a flash fire consumed
the spacecraft.
Virgil "Gus" Grissom made the ultimate sacrifice and lost his life in
service to the nation and the space program on January 27, 1967 at 40
years of age.
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