[Boreas]

Nineteen years before Challenger, almost to the day, Apollo 1 burned on the launch pad and we lost three astronauts, Ed White, Roger Chaffee and Gus Grissom. Grissom was the Commander and one of the original seven Mercury Astronauts.

Just as Zeke has a personal connection to the Challenger disaster, so do I have one to Apollo 1. At the time of the disaster, I was a member of the 1st Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment, the US Army Honor Guard at Ft Myer, VA. Two of the three astronauts, Grissom and Chaffee, were buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery, including a formal procession to the grave site complete with horse-drawn caissons to convey the astronauts on their final journey. As a member of the Honor Guard, I was a part of that ceremony.

Several months later, I also participated in the ceremony conducted during the relocation of President Kennedy's remains to the permanent grave site at Arlington. I feel fortunate to have been a small part of these ceremonies honoring several of our fallen.