Profiles Index
Roger B. Chaffee Biography
Roger B. Chaffee (Lieutenant Commander, USN) was born on February 15, 1935, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Donald L. Chaffee, reside. Roger Chaffee and fellow astronauts Gus Grissom and Ed White died on January 27, 1967, at Cape Kennedy, Florida, when a flash fire consumed their spacecraft during a full-scale simulation in preparation for the scheduled launch of their Saturn / Apollo mission.
Stephen D. Thorne Biography
Stephen D. Thorne was born February 11, 1953, in Frankfurt-on-Main, West Germany. Died May 24, 1986. Cdr Thorne is survived by his wife, Sue. He enjoyed baseball, running, reading, and general aviation. Graduated from T.L. Hanna High School, Anderson, South Carolina, in 1971; received a bachelor of science degree in systems engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1975. Lieutenant Commander Thorne was killed in an aircraft accident, in which he was a passenger, on May 24, 1986.
Manley Lanier "Sonny" Carter, Jr. Biography
Manley Lanier "Sonny" Carter, Jr. (Captain, USN) was born August 15, 1947, in Macon, Georgia, but considered Warner Robins, Georgia, to be his hometown. Died April 5, 1991. He is survived by his wife, Dana, and two daughters. He enjoyed wrestling, golf, tennis, L.A. Dodger baseball, and old movies. Carter was a professional soccer player from 1970-73 for the Atlanta Chiefs of the NASL.
Virgil I. Grissom (Lieutenant Colonel, USAF) Biography
Virgil I. Grissom (Lieutenant Colonel, USAF) was born April 3, 1926, in Mitchell., Indiana. Died January 27, 1967, at NASA Kennedy Space Center, Florida, in the Apollo spacecraft fire. He is survived by his wife Betty and their two children.
Charles A. Bassett, II Biography
Charles A. Bassett, II (Captain) was born in Dayton, Ohio, on December 30, 1931. Died February 28, 1966, in St. Louis, Missouri, in the crash of a T-38 jet. He is survived by his wife, Jean, and two children.
Clifton C. Williams, Jr. Biography
Clifton C. Williams, Jr. (Major, USMC) was born September 26, 1932, in Mobile, Alabama. Died on October 5, 1967, near Tallahassee, Florida, in the crash of a T-38 jet. He is survived by his wife Jane and a daughter.
Theodore C. Freeman Biography
Theodore C. Freeman (Captain, USAF) was born February 18, 1930, in Haverford, Pennsylvania. Died October 31, 1964, at Ellington Air Force Base, Houston, Texas, in the crash of a T-38 jet. Survived by his wife Faith and one daughter.
Edward Higgins White II Biography
Edward Higgins White II, (Lt. Colonel, USAF) was born November 14, 1930, San Antonio, Texas; died January 27, 1967, in the Apollo 204 fire at Cape Kennedy, Florida. Edward Higgins White II was the son of Edward Higgins White, Sr.