Commander Roger Bruce Chaffee

U.S. Navy

Grand Rapids, Michigan

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Commander Chaffee received his Bachelor of Science degree in aeronautical engineering from Purdue University in 1957. He took his first pilot training at Reserve Officers’ Training Corps during his last semester at the university. He began training as a Navy fighter pilot at Pensacola, Florida, in the summer of 1957 and was transferred in 1958 to Kingsville, Texas, for more advanced training in the F9F Cougar jet fighter, completing his training in 1959. Subsequently he was assigned as safety and quality-control officer for Heavy Photographic Squadron 62 at the Naval Air Station in Jacksonville, Florida. While there, he was assigned to fly over the coast of Florida and make aerial photographs of Cape Canaveral for mapping purposes. In January 1963 he entered the Air Force Institute of Technology at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, to work on a Master of Science degree in reliability engineering.  He was chosen with the third group of astronauts on October 18, 1963.  Chaffee had participated in all phases of the astronautic training program and was selected as pilot for the first manned Apollo flight. His commander, Gus Grissom, said of Chaffee, “Roger is one of the smartest boys I've ever run into. He's just a dang good engineer. There's no other way to explain it. When he starts talking to engineers about their systems, he can just tear those guys apart. I've never seen one like him.  He's really a great boy.” He died on January 27, 1967, at the launch pad at Cape Kennedy when the Apollo spacecraft in which he and crewmates Grissom and White were training burst into flames, killing all three astronauts. On October 23, 1967, he was posthumously awarded the NASA Exceptional Service Medal. On December 17, 1997, Roger Chaffee was posthumously awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor by President Clinton. The medal was presented to Roger’s widow, Martha, at the White House. He was also inducted into the Michigan Aviation Hall of Fame in 1994 and the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame in 1997. An Eagle Scout, Roger Chaffee once said, “Probably the greatest thing a man can say to himself, or have as his philosophy when he has to tackle a tough job, or make a big decision, is the first eight words of the Scout Oath: On my honor, I will do my best…”