40th Anniversary

Below the Beltway and Captain's Quarters both note that today is the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 1 fire.  It took the lives of three astronauts: Virgil "Gus" Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee.

My first real memories of the space program came later with Apollo 7 and successive launches.  As a 7 -1/2 year old by then, I sat in awe as I watched Apollo's 7 through 11 culminate with a landing on the moon.  Without the bravery and sacrifice of it's predecessors, Apollo 11 would have never have seen it's mission fulfilled.

Captain Ed puts it best: "There were many reasons the Apollo I accident should not have happened, but Grissom, White, and Chaffee knew that the job was dangerous and did it anyway. They should rightly be remembered as American heroes."

-Colonel Steve