Gus Grissom Memorial - Spring Mill State Park
Greetings and happy new year. Today we will visit the memorial dedicated to Hoosier astronaut Gus Grissom, located at the entrance of Spring Mill State Park near Mitchell, Indiana.
Gus Grissom Memorial
From the Book
Transcript:
Gus Grissom Memorial - Spring Mill State Park
Greetings and happy new year. Today we will visit the memorial dedicated to Hoosier astronaut Gus Grissom, located at the entrance of Spring Mill State Park near Mitchell, Indiana.
Gus Grissom Memorial
Before getting started, I would encourage you to subscribe to the Mossy Feet Books You Tube channel for more great content. I also entreat you to visit my website, www.mossyfeetbooks.com. There you will find sample chapters, podcasts, a slew of content and links to where you can buy my books. While visiting the web site you can subscribe to it and receive email notifications of when I publish a new book or other content, like this video and podcast. You can also subscribe to the Mossy Feet Books You Tube Channel to ensure you do not miss any of my content. This episode is based on my book, Spring Mill State Park.
The Gus Grissom Memorial, located on the outskirts of Spring Mill State Park is a fitting memorial to a courageous native son. Native to Mitchell, Indiana, Gus Grissom was a military test pilot and an astronaut. He was one of the original Mercury 7 astronauts that pioneered the United State's space program in the early 1960's. Gus died in a launch pad fire in 1968 during a testing operation for the Gemini space program. Gus's Gemini III capsule, helmet, spacesuit, and other NASA artifacts are in the museum. Admission is free. A state park entrance fee for the park is not required as the Memorial is located just outside the gatehouse. Trail 6, a handicap accessible paved trail goes through a portion of the Donaldson Nature Preserve, is here. In nearby Mitchell there is a stone monument that honors the town's favorite son in front of Mitchell's town hall. His boyhood home is open at certain times, located at 1017 Rariden Hill, Mitchell, Indiana.
Astronaut Virgil I. Grissom (April 3, 1926 - January 27,1967)
Virgil Grissom entered the world as the second child of Dennis David Grissom and Cecile King Grissom in the small Indiana town of Mitchell. He proved an average student at Mitchell schools. He made money by delivering copies of the Indianapolis Star. When World War II broke out, the eager high school student couldn't wait to graduate so he could enlist. Prior to graduation he completed an entrance exam for the United States Army Air Forces. Upon graduation the Army sent him to Sheppard Field in Wichita Falls, Texas for basic training. The army assigned him clerk duties at Brooks Field in San Antonio, Texas. He served there until his discharge in September 1945.
Marriage and College
Prior to discharge he married his high school sweetheart, Betty Lavonne Moore. Upon his discharge he moved back to Mitchell and took a job in the school bus factory, the Carpenter Body Works. Deciding he wanted more; he enrolled in Purdue University under the GI Bill and graduated in 1950 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering.
Back in the Air Force
After graduation he re-enlisted in the United States Air Force. He wanted to become a test pilot. The Air Force sent him to Randolph Air Force Base in Universal City, Texas to train at the air cadet basic training program. After completion of this course the Korean War had broken out and he shipped to the war zone in February 1952. His wartime service gained him steady promotions and the Air Medal with cluster and the Distinguished Flying Cross.
Post War - Finally a Test Pilot
After his tour of duty completed he became a jet instructor in Bryan, Texas and then on to study aeronautical engineering at Wright Patterson Air Base in Ohio. At the conclusion of that training, he achieved his dream when the Air Force accepted him as a fighter jet test pilot in 1957.
Astronaut
By the late 1950's the Space Race was just beginning and the United States Military needed candidates for the first men to fly into space. They selected Virgil "Gus" Grissom as one of the initial group of seven, the "Mercury Seven." On On July 21, 1961 he flew the second Mercury flight in the Liberty Bell 7. At the conclusion of the flight he was involved in a controversial problem in which the door on the space capsul blew off prematurely, sinking the space capsule. many charged that he panicked and blew the door too soon. Examination of the craft at the which has been recovered, exonerated him. Grissom's space career continued, in spite of the controversy. He next flew into space on the March 23, 1965 Gemini III flight. NASA next selected Grissom to command the Apollo I flight. Apollo was the third program in America's space program that would culminate in landing the first man on the moon. Unfortunately, Grissom's career was cut short in a launch pad fire on January 27,1967. Grissom and his two crew mates, Ed White and Roger Chaffee died in the blaze.
The episode is based upon my book, Spring Mill State Park, available on the web site, www.mossyfeetbooks.com. The book is the first book in the 11 Indiana State Park Travel Guide Series. The books include information about the parks, museums, historic sites and many other day trip destination across the state. I encourage you to visit the web site and subscribe to it.
You can find my books locally at the Walnut Street Variety Shop in Batesville, Indiana.
I hope you enjoyed this podcast and thank you for listening.
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