Lyndon B. Johnson photo

Statement by the President on the Death of Astronauts Virgil I. Grissom, Edward H. White 2d, and Roger B. Chaffee.

January 27, 1967

THREE valiant young men have given their lives in the Nation's service. We mourn this great loss. Our hearts go out to their families.

Note: The three astronauts were killed on January 27 by a fire in an Apollo spacecraft mounted on a Saturn rocket at Cape Kennedy. The accident occurred in the course of a test in preparation for a flight scheduled for February 21.

A press release issued by the Manned Spacecraft Center at Houston, Texas, gave biographical sketches of the three astronauts and details concerning their burial. On January 31 the President attended the funeral of Lt. Colonel Grissom and Lt. Commander Chaffee at Arlington National Cemetery. On the same day Mrs. Johnson was present at the interment of Lt. Colonel White at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

The statement was made available to the press through the White House Press Office.

Lyndon B. Johnson, Statement by the President on the Death of Astronauts Virgil I. Grissom, Edward H. White 2d, and Roger B. Chaffee. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/237520

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