Episode 57: The Apollo 1 Investigation (The Apollo Prgram, Part II)

I'm not sure how I missed this during my research, but earlier this year Arlington National Cemetery unveiled a new memorial to commemorate the 55th anniversary of the Apollo 1 fire. It is not located in Section 24 near the USS Maine Monument with the other astronaut memorials. This one is in Section 3, near the headstones of the two Apollo 1 crewmembers interred at Arlington. It was unveiled on June 2, 2022.

Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Virgil Ivan "Gus" Grissom is interred at Arlington Naitonal Cemetery in Section 3, Grave 2503.

Navy Lieutnenat Commander Roger Bruce Chaffee is interred at Arlington National Cemetery in Section 3, Grave 2502

As per his wishes and the wishes of his family, Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Edward Higgins White II is interred at the cemetery of his alma mater, the United States Military Academy at West Point, in Section 18, Row G, Grave 80. His father, himself a West Point alumnus, is also buried there.

Pad 34, where the fire took place, still stands as a memorial to the fallen crew of Apollo 1, as seen here during the 50th anniversary commemoration of the fire.

The memo that NASA official Jim Jones sent to President Lyndon B. Johnson just over an hour after the fire to inform him of the accident.

The letter LBJ sent to Roger Chaffee's parents after the accident. As a huge supporter of the space program, Johnson took the lose of the astronauts hard and wrote similar letters to the parents and wives of all three astronauts killed in the fire.