Roger B. Chaffee

Detail of part of the plaque at the memorial. It reads

Roger B. Chaffee

Born February 15, 1935 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Roger received a Bachelor of Science degree in aeronautical engineering from Purdue University. Chaffee and his wife, Martha Horn Chaffee, have two children, Sheryl and Stephen.

Lieutenant Commander Chaffee was among the third group of pilots to be selected by NASA in 1963 to become astronauts. After rigorous training, he was selected to be one of the pilots for Apollo 1.

When a flash fire consumed their spacecraft during a countdown simulation in preparation for the scheduled launch of their Saturn/Apollo mission, Roger Chaffee chose to remain strapped into his couch, attempting to transmit emergency messages while fire raged mercilessly throughout the Apollo spacecraft.

Roger B. Chaffee made the ultimate sacrifice and lost his life in service to the nation and the space program on January 27, 1967 at 31 years of age.