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People: Virgil Grissom Virgil "Gus" Grissom Virgil "Gus" Grissom Born: April 3, 1926 Birthplace: Mitchell, Indiana [Lawrence County] Died: January 27, 1967 Astronaut who was the second American in space, flying in his Liberty Bell 7 spacecraft atop a Mercury Redstone rocket on a 15-minute suborbital flight July 21, 1961. Grissom and John Young flew aboard the Gemini III spacecraft on a five hour flight March 23, 1965 that demonstrated the ability to change orbital path during flight. He died in a launchpad fire that consumed the capsule of Apollo 1, also killing Ed White and Roger Chaffee. A memorial to Grissom stands on the grounds of Spring Mill State Park, near Grissom's hometown of Mitchell. The memorial includes an exhibit containing the Gemini spacecraft Grissom flew in during his 1965 mission.