# Roger B. Chaffee

By [Sheila II.](https://paragraph.com/@days365) · 2022-07-03

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**Roger Bruce Chaffee** ([/ˈtʃæfiː/](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA/English); February 15, 1935 – January 27, 1967) was an American [naval officer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Officer_\(armed_forces\)), [aviator](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_naval_aviator) and [aeronautical engineer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aeronautical_engineering) who was a [NASA](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA) [astronaut](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astronaut) in the [Apollo program](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_program).

Chaffee was born in [Grand Rapids, Michigan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Rapids,_Michigan), where he became an [Eagle Scout](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eagle_Scout_\(Boy_Scouts_of_America\)). He graduated from [Central High School](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_High_School_\(Grand_Rapids,_Michigan\)) in 1953, and accepted a [Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naval_Reserve_Officers_Training_Corps) (NROTC) scholarship. He began his college education at [Illinois Institute of Technology](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illinois_Institute_of_Technology), where he was involved in the fraternity [Phi Kappa Sigma](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phi_Kappa_Sigma). He transferred to [Purdue University](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purdue_University) in 1954, continuing his involvement in Phi Kappa Sigma and obtaining his [private pilot's license](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_pilot_licence).

After graduating from Purdue in 1957 with a [Bachelor of Science](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bachelor_of_Science) degree in [Aeronautical Engineering](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerospace_engineering), Chaffee completed his Navy training and was commissioned as an [ensign](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ensign_\(rank\)#United_States). He began pilot training at [Naval Air Station Pensacola](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naval_Air_Station_Pensacola), Florida, flying aircraft such as the [T-34](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beechcraft_T-34_Mentor), [T-28](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_T-28_Trojan), and [A3D](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_A-3_Skywarrior). He became quality and safety control officer for [Heavy Photographic Squadron 62](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VAP-62) (VAP-62). His time in this unit included taking crucial photos of Cuba during the [Cuban Missile Crisis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban_Missile_Crisis), earning him the [Air Medal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Medal). He was promoted to [lieutenant commander](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lieutenant_Commander_\(United_States\)) in 1966.

Along with thirteen other pilots, Chaffee was selected to be an astronaut as part of [NASA Astronaut Group 3](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA_Astronaut_Group_3) in 1963. He served as [capsule communicator](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capsule_communicator) (CAPCOM) for the [Gemini 3](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gemini_3) and [Gemini 4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gemini_4) missions and received his first spaceflight assignment in 1966 as the third-ranking pilot on [Apollo 1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_1). In 1967, he died in a fire along with fellow astronauts [Virgil "Gus" Grissom](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gus_Grissom) and [Ed White](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_White_\(astronaut\)) during a pre-launch test for the mission at what was then the [Cape Kennedy Air Force Station Launch Complex 34](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Canaveral_Air_Force_Station_Launch_Complex_34), Florida. He was posthumously awarded the [Congressional Space Medal of Honor](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congressional_Space_Medal_of_Honor) and a second Air Medal.

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*Originally published on [Sheila II.](https://paragraph.com/@days365/roger-b-chaffee)*