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Historical Information

Astronauts Buried at Arlington National Cemetery

There are 16 astronauts buried in Arlington National Cemetery:

Retired U.S. Navy Capt. David M. Walker was interred with full military honors May 24, 2001, in Section 66, Grave 5191. Capt. Walker died April 23 while under a course of treatment for cancer. He was 56 years old. The former Navy test pilot logged 725 hours in space, including command of the five-day mission in May 1989 of the space shuttle Discovery to launch the highly successful Magellan Venus probe. He went on to command two more shuttle flights.

Capt. Charles "Pete" Conrad, Jr., U.S. Navy. Interred July 19, 1999, Section 11, Grave 113-3. Capt. Conrad died July 8 in Ojai Valley, Calif., from injuries incurred in a motorcycle accident. The third man to walk on the moon in the Nov. 14 to 24, 1969, Apollo 12 mission, which he commanded, Conrad was buried with full military honors, to include an F-14 aircraft flyover.

Retired Marine Col. Robert F. Overmyer, was interred in Section 23, Grave 22469, following his death March 22, 1996. Overmyer piloted STS-5, the first fully operational flight of the space shuttle, Nov. 11, 1982, when the Payload Assist Module was first used, launching two commercial satellites. He commanded STS 51-B, a Spacelab mission, in 1985. After serving on the inquiry panel following the Challenger disaster, Overmyer retired from the military and died in the crash of an experimental civilian aircraft he was test piloting. He was 59.

Col. Stuart A. Roosa, U.S. Air Force Interred: Dec. 15, 1994, Section 7-A, Grave 73. Col. Roosa was interred with full military honors, including a fly-over, following a 9:45 a.m. chapel mass. Col. Roosa was the pilot of the command ship on the Apollo 14 moon mission.

Col. James Benson Irwin, U.S. Air Force. Interred: August 15, 1991, Section 3, Grave 2503-G-2, Grid Q-15. Col. Irwin, former Apollo 15 astronaut, died of a heart attack Aug. 8, 1991, in Glenwood Springs, Colo. He was buried with full Air Force honors.

Rear Adm. S. David Griggs, U.S. Navy Reserve. Interred: June 21, 1989, Section 7A, Grave 81. Rear Adm. Griggs was killed June 17, 1989, in an aircraft crash. He had been scheduled for a space shuttle mission later in 1989. He was buried with full Navy honors following a memorial service at Fort Myer Chapel.

Col. Donn F. Eisele, U.S. Air Force. Interred: Dec. 9, 1987, Section 3, Grave 2503-G-1. Col. Eisele, former Apollo 7 astronaut, died of a heart attack on Dec. 1, 1987, in Tokyo. He was buried with full Air Force Honors at 3 p.m., following a memorial service at the Fort Myer Post Chapel.

Lt. Cmdr. Stephen D. Thorne, U.S. Navy. Interred: May 30, 1986, Section 7A, Grave 135. Lt. Cmdr. Thorne was killed in an airplane crash on May 24, 1986, at Galveston, Texas. A Navy full-honor funeral (with flyover) was conducted at the Fort Myer Chapel.

Lt. Col. Francis R. (Dick) Scobee, U.S. Air Force. Interred: May 19, 1986, Section 46, Grave 1129-4. Lt. Col. Scobee was killed in the Jan. 28, 1986, explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger. An Air Force full-honor memorial service was held at the Fort Myer Chapel.

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Cmdr. Michael J. Smith, U.S. Navy. Interred: May 3, 1986, Section 7A, Grave 208-1. Cmdr. Smith was killed in the Jan. 28, 1986, explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger. A Navy full-honor memorial service took place at the Fort Myer Chapel.

Maj. Clifton C. Williams, Jr., U.S. Marine Corps. Interred: Oct. 9, 1967, Section 3, Grave 2503-H-1. Maj. Williams was killed in a plane crash Oct. 5, 1967 near the Florida-Georgia border.

Lt. Cmdr. Roger B. Chaffee, U.S. Navy. Interred: Jan. 31, 1967, Section 3, Grave 2502-F, Grid Q-15.

Lt. Col. Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom, U.S. Air Force. Interred: Jan. 31, 1967, Section 3, Grave 2503-E, Grid Q-15.

Lt. Col. Grissom and Lt. Cmdr. Chaffee were killed Jan. 27, 1967, in a fire aboard their Apollo spacecraft at Cape Canaveral, Fla. The two men are buried next to one another and received full military honors. President Lyndon B. Johnson presented the flags to the next of kin.

Lt. Col. Edward H. White, the third crew member killed in the fire, is buried at the U.S. Military Academy, West Point, N.Y.

Maj. Charles A. Bassett, II, U.S. Air Force. Interred: March 4, 1966, Section 4, Grave 195.

Cmdr. Elliot McKay See, Jr., U.S. Navy Reserve. Interred: March 4, 1966, Section 4, Grave 208, Grid AA11 1/2 .

Cmdr. See, Jr., and Maj. Bassett, II, were killed in a plane crash at Lambert Field, St. Louis, Mo., Feb. 28, 1966. They were buried with full honors.

Capt. Theodore C. Freeman, U.S. Air Force. Interred: November 4, 1964, Section 4, Grave 3148. Capt. Freeman was killed Oct. 31, 1964, when his T38 jet crashed on a training flight.

Four of the astronauts (Smith, Griggs, Conrad and Roosa) have privately purchased headstones. The others have regulation government headstones, some with the designation of astronaut, others not.

Astronauts Walker, Conrad, Jr., Overmyer, Scobee, Eisele, Grissom, Roosa, Irwin and Griggs had flown space missions prior to their death. The other six died before getting into space.

Also buried at Arlington National Cemetery are the unidentified, commingled, partial remains of the seven astronauts who died aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger Jan. 28, 1986:

  • Cmdr. Michael J. Smith, U.S. Navy
  • Lt. Col. Francis R. Scobee, U.S. Air Force
  • Dr. Judith A. Resnik
  • Lt. Col. Ellison S. Onizuka, U.S. Air Force
  • Mr. Gregory B. Jarvis
  • Dr. Ronald E. McNair
  • Mrs. Sharon Christa McAuliffe

The seven Challenger astronauts are memorialized at Section 46, Grid O-24, near the Memorial Amphitheater.

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