Abandon in place
Betty Grissom’s last visit to Apollo 1 memorial
happens to us, it will not delay
the program. The conquest of
Is Gus Grissom’s widow
space is worth the risk of life.”
herself about to “abandon in
In the aftermath of the
place” the memorial vigil she
accident, there were doubts,
has maintained over the last
suspicions, recriminations and
48 years since the fiery death
bitterness expressed over what
suffered by her husband,
happened to the three men,
Astronaut Commander Virgil
but the program moved on with
“Gus” Grissom and fellow
full support of the families. And
astronauts Roger Chaffee and
they, in turn, were there for the
Ed White back in 1967 at Pad
families after the stunning loss
34 Cape Canaveral Air Force
of the shuttle Challenger and its
Station (CCAFS)?
crew in 1986 during launch and
They were the first human
again in 2003 following the loss
martyrs of our pioneering
of a second shuttle, Columbia,
efforts at manned space flight,
which took another 7 lives
occurring just as our space
when the orbiter succumbed
program
was
progressing
to damage sustained during
toward larger missions and
launch and broke up on remore complex vehicles. The
entry. At that time, Betty Grissom
flash fire that so quickly took
stated, “I also hope that people
their lives was a reminder that,
of all nations will put aside our
despite all precautions taken
differences today in a moment
to ensure safety, things can go
of silence and say something
horribly wrong. Their line of work
special in their own way for each
is one of high risk, which they
knew full well yet they chose Silohuette of a bagpiper against the LC-34 concrete of these of these astronauts and
their families today.”
to “push the envelope” as far launch pedestal.
Photo: Julian Leek/JNN
At this year’s memorial, it
as it was possible for them to
was announced in an Air Force
do. They constantly reaffirmed
their commitment and our nation’s commitment to press release that this, the 48th annual observance of
the program, with Grissom himself stating “If we die, the Apollo I accident, would be Mrs. Grissom’s last.
we want people to accept it…..we hope if anything Her health has been in decline in recent years and
this observance saw her wheeled in by wheelchair,
reflecting the toll that accumulating years have finally
taken. Indeed, as the sign on Pad 34 (CCAFS) crudely
and simply states “ABANDON IN PLACE”...a military
directive meaning “leave as is…make no changes”
and serves as a troubling metaphor for the disregard
which is given to far too many people, places and
things of great historical significance in this country.
How long is “long enough” to memorialize the
sacrifices made by the dead. How long need a building
or a battlefield be preserved to honor its role as the site
of an historic event. Progress often acts as a two-edged
sword, capable of slicing away the staid old practices
of the past to find a new path…. a new way of thinking
and getting things done better, faster, cheaper. It is a
After the Apollo 1 fire, Launch Complex 34 was subsequently used hallmark of this country and a key to its phenomenal
only for the launch of Apollo 7 and later dismantled down to the success. In our haste to establish “a new order” and
concrete launch pedestal.
Photo: Julian Leek/JNN found our new nation, we nearly lost to decay and
By Mary Kanian
56
56
www.RocketSTEM.org