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Virgil I. Grissom Inc. And Grissom Boyhood Home To Commemorate Astronaut's Death

Last updated on Tuesday, January 26, 2016

(MITCHELL) - Virgil I. Grissom Inc. and the Grissom Boyhood Home will commemorate the 49th anniversary of the astronaut’s death on Wednesday.

The home will open for visitors at 5:30 p.m. and the program will begin at approximately 6:15 p.m. Steve Grissom, board president and cousin to the late astronaut, will speak about the house, the proposed Apollo 1 flight, the men of the mission and the fire that took their lives.

Grissom's talk will be timed to end at 6:31 p.m., which is the same time that the fire began. There will be a moment of silence, prayer and a 21-gun honor salute by the American Legion Post No. 250 Honor Guard.

Lt. Col. Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom was born in Mitchell on April 3, 1926, and died at the Kennedy Space Center in a flash fire during a pre-launch test on January 27, 1967.

Grissom's Boyhood Home, 715 Grissom Ave., is maintained as an historic home by Virgil I. Grissom Inc. The home is open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays, Memorial Day weekend through October; and January 27 and April 3 each year, and other times by appointment by calling (812) 849-1090.

The Grissom family moved into the home when Virgil was about 2 years old. He lived in the home until he graduated from Mitchell High School and entered the U.S. Army near the end of World War II.

The Grissom family lived in the home until both parents died.

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