Decent offensive support was provided by Rich Aurilia, Marquis Grissom, Jose Cruz Jr., Edgardo Alfonzo, Benito Santiago, Pedro Feliz and Andres Galarraga.

Virgil Ivan Grissom ( April 3, 1926 – January 27, 1967 ), ( Lt Col, USAF ), better known as Gus Grissom, was one of the original NASA Project Mercury astronauts and a United States Air Force pilot.

Grissom was killed along with fellow astronauts Ed White and Roger Chaffee during a pre-launch test for the Apollo 1 mission at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station ( then known as Cape Kennedy ), Florida.

World War II broke out while Grissom was still in high school, and he was eager to enlist upon graduation.

The family remained there only briefly and in December 1951 they moved to Presque Isle, Maine where Grissom was assigned to Presque Isle Air Force Base and became a member of the 75th Fighter Interceptor Squadron.

On March 11, 1952, Grissom was promoted to First Lieutenant and was cited for his " superlative airmanship ".

Grissom requested to remain in Korea to fly another 25 flights, but his request was denied.

In August 1955, Grissom was reassigned to the Air Force Institute of Technology located in Dayton, Ohio.

The message was classified " Top Secret " and Grissom was not to discuss its contents with anyone.

Grissom discovered that he was one of 110 military test pilots whose credentials had earned them an invitation to learn more about the space program in general and Project Mercury in particular.

Captain Grissom then underwent a series of physical and psychological tests and on April 13, 1959, was notified that he had been chosen as one of the seven Mercury astronauts.

On July 21, 1961, Grissom was pilot of the second Project Mercury flight, Mercury-Redstone 4, popularly known as Liberty Bell 7.

Quickly exiting through the open hatch and into the ocean, Grissom was nearly drowned as water began filling his spacesuit.

Grissom asserted he had done nothing to cause the hatch to blow, and NASA officials eventually concluded that he was correct.

Initiating the explosive egress system required hitting a metal trigger with the side of a closed fist, which unavoidably left a large, obvious bruise on the astronaut's hand, but Grissom was found not to have any of the tell-tale bruising.

Grissom was surrounded by reporters in a news conference after his space flight in America's second manned ship.

In early 1964 Alan Shepard was grounded after being diagnosed with Ménière's disease and Grissom was designated command pilot for Gemini 3, the first manned Project Gemini flight, which flew on March 23, 1965.

Grissom was one of the eight pilots of the NASA paraglider research vehicle.

" Gus " Grissom was born and raised in Mitchell.

** Gus Grissom ( born 1926 )

Marquis Deon Grissom (; born April 17, 1967 ) is a former American Major League Baseball player.

Grissom was born in Atlanta, Georgia.

William Louis Petersen ( born February 21, 1953 ) is an American actor and producer, best known for playing Dr. Gilbert " Gil " Grissom on the hit CBS series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Richard Chance in the film To Live and Die in L. A., and as Will Graham in the film Manhunter.

Gilbert " Gil " Grissom was born on August 17, 1956, as an only child to a middle-class family in Santa Monica, California.

Steve Grissom ( born June 26, 1963 ) is a NASCAR driver.

* Grissom's boyhood home on Grissom Avenue ( renamed in his honor after his Mercury flight ) in Mitchell, Indiana, is currently being restored into a museum.

* The auditorium in Mitchell High School, which Grissom attended.

The Virgil I. Gus Grissom Memorial, located just inside of Spring Mill State Park near Mitchell, contains many mementos of Grissom's career, including the space capsule he commanded, " The Molly Brown ", from Gemini 3, and the space suit worn during his Mercury Liberty Bell 7 mission.

U. S. astronaut Gus Grissom, native of Mitchell, Indiana, in front of the Liberty Bell 7 capsule, in which he became the second American to fly in outer space

The Gus Grissom Memorial in Mitchell, Indiana

Mitchell was also the birthplace of astronaut Virgil " Gus " Grissom ( 1926 – 1967 ).

The spacecraft is on display within the Grissom Memorial of Spring Mill State Park, two miles east of Grissom's hometown of Mitchell, Indiana.

In all, the astronauts who trained at the planetarium were Buzz Aldrin, Joseph P. Allen, William A. Anders, Neil A. Armstrong, Charles A. Bassett II, Alan L. Bean, Frank Borman, Vance D. Brand, John S. Bull, M. Scott Carpenter, Gerald P. Carr, Eugene A. Cernan, Roger B. Chaffee, Philip K. Chapman, Michael Collins, Charles Conrad Jr., L. Gordon Cooper, R. Walter Cunningham, Charles M. Duke Jr., Donn F. Eisele, Anthony W. England, Joe H. Engle, Ronald E. Evans, Theodore C. Freeman, Edward G. Givens Jr., John H. Glenn Jr., Richard F. Gordon Jr., Virgil I. Grissom, Fred W. Haise Jr., Karl G. Henize, James B. Irwin, Joseph P. Kerwin, William B. Lenoir, Don L. Lind, John A. Llewellyn, Jack R. Lousma, James A. Lovell Jr., Thomas K. Mattingly Jr., Bruce McCandless II, James A. McDivitt, F. Curtis Michel, Edgar D. Mitchell, Story Musgrave, Brian T. O ’ Leary, Robert A. Parker, William R. Pogue, Stuart A. Roosa, Walter M. Schirra Jr., Russell L. Schweickart, David R. Scott, Elliot See, Alan B. Shepard Jr., Donald K. Slayton, Thomas P. Stafford, John L. Swigert Jr., William E. Thornton, Paul J. Weitz, Edward H. White, Clifton C. Williams Jr., Alfred M. Worden, and John W. Young.

Also of interest is a memorial to native resident of Mitchell, Gus Grissom, one of the original Mercury Seven astronauts, who died in the Apollo 1 accident.

" Gus " Grissom, USAF, a native of Mitchell, Indiana who was one of the original seven Mercury astronauts.

Grissom occasionally spent time at a local airport in Bedford, Indiana where he first became interested in flying.

* The airport in Bedford, Indiana where Grissom flew as a teenager was renamed Virgil I. Grissom Municipal Airport.

* The Gus Grissom Stakes, thoroughbred horse race run each fall at Hoosier Park in Anderson, Indiana.

* Bunker Hill Air Force Base in Peru, Indiana, was renamed on May 12, 1968, to Grissom Air Force Base.

* Virgil I. Grissom Middle School, Mishawaka, Indiana.

* Grissom Elementary School, Gary, Indiana.

* Grissom Elementary School, Muncie, Indiana.

A book titled: " Seven Minus One: the Story of Astronaut Gus Grissom " was self published in 1968 by Carl L. Chappell, Ph. D. through New Frontier Publishing Co. of Madison, Indiana and is probably the earliest biography of Col. Grissom.

* Indiana Historical Society tribute to Gus Grissom

The 905 ARS was reassigned to the Grissom AFB, Indiana, although it continued to operate from Grand Forks AFB.

* 434th Air Refueling Wing, Grissom ARB, Indiana

* Gus Grissom, Apollo 1, Indiana Alpha 1950

Convair B-58A Hustler: Convair B-58 Hustler Serial Number: 61-2080 Markings: 305th Bombardment Wing, Grissom AFB, Indiana, 1969.

In May 1959, the 305th Bomb Wing with B-47's was reassigned to Bunker Hill AFB, later Grissom AFB, Indiana.

His family soon moved to Indiana because his stepfather had been transferred to Grissom Air Force Base near Peru, Indiana.

* 434th Air Refueling Wing, ( KC-135 ) Grissom Air Reserve Base, Indiana