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Forum:	Space Places
Topic:	Roger B. Chaffee statue (Grand Rapids, MI)

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Your Reply: HTML is ON UBB Code is ON Smilies Legend	[QUOTE]Originally posted by Gordon Eliot Reade: [B]I wish I could be there for the dedication. I feel that it isn't just Roger B. Chaffee who's being honored but everyone who worked on Apollo in any capacity at all. [/B][/QUOTE]
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<table border=0 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 width="600"><TR><td bgcolor="#000000"><TABLE BORDER=0 cellpadding=4 border=0 cellspacing=1 WIDTH="100%"><TR bgcolor="#660000"><TD COLSPAN=2><CENTER>T O P I C     R E V I E W</CENTER></TD></TR><TR bgcolor="#494949"><TD valign=top>Robert Pearlman</TD><TD>A full-sized bronze statue of Apollo astronaut Roger B. Chaffee <A HREF="https://www.wktvjournal.org/statute-of-former-astronaut-chaffee-to-be-unveiled-this-saturday/" TARGET=_blank>will be unveiled</A> in his hometown of Grand Rapids, Michigan at 1 p.m. on Saturday, May 19, 2018. <BLOCKQUOTE>Chaffee's widow Martha and daughter Sheryl Lyn plan to attend the event, taking place at the corner of East Fulton Street and Sheldon Avenue NE, near the Grand Rapids Children's Museum.The Michigan Military Preservation Society (MMPS), together with the Lowell American Legion Post #152, raised the funds for the statue. MMPS is a non-profit organization of veterans whose vision is to honor historical contributions made by West Michigan vets.CMDR David L. Thompson, USN (Ret.) chaired the project, with MMPS board members Dan Pfeiffer and Bud Vierson. This group chose respected sculptor and Grand Rapids native J. Brett Grill to undertake the project."We conducted a nationwide search to find the absolute finest possible sculptor to handle this commission," said Thompson. "We wanted an artist who worked in bronze, and who could create a lifelike work of art. To our delight, we found Brett Grill, and we couldn't be more pleased with the final product.""For a statue of this caliber, it was critically important to me that every detail is accurate," added Grill. "For a space suit that never flew on a mission, that meant doing some serious digging to learn some of the details needed to recreate Roger in his pressure suit and holding his helmet."This accuracy can only add value to a statue that will reside on the NW corner of East Fulton Street and Sheldon Avenue in downtown Grand Rapids, near the entrance of the Grand Rapids Children's Museum.</BLOCKQUOTE></TD></TR><TR bgcolor="#333333"><TD valign=top>Gordon Eliot Reade</TD><TD>I wish I could be there for the dedication. I feel that it isn't just Roger B. Chaffee who's being honored but everyone who worked on Apollo in any capacity at all. </TD></TR><TR bgcolor="#494949"><TD valign=top>Wehaveliftoff</TD><TD>WZZM TV 13 Grand Rapids, Michigan <A HREF="https://www.wzzm13.com/article/news/local/michigan-life/never-forgotten-roger-b-chaffee-to-be-honored-with-full-scale-statue/69-551909692" TARGET=_blank>tribute video</A> to the man and his bronze statue by its creators:<center><iframe width="400" height="225" style="border-width:1px; border-style:solid; border-color:#e6e6e6;" src="https://media.wzzm13.com/embeds/video/8132038/iframe" allowfullscreen="true" webkitallowfullscreen="true" mozallowfullscreen="true">

ManInSpace

Great post and link about Chaffee. Thank you.

Wehaveliftoff

Here are photos of the statue from WOOD TV8's Evan Dean on Twitter.

Gordon Eliot Reade

Very nice. Now what does the inscription on the plaque say?

Robert Pearlman

The plaque reads:

Roger B. Chaffee
Lieutenant Commander, United States Navy
1935-1967
Grand Rapids Native — US Navy Aviator — NASA Astronaut
Roger Chaffee perished during a test of Apollo 1 on 27 January 1967 with crewmates Virgil "Gus" Grissom and Edward White II.

MLive.com has a video (below) photo gallery from the unveiling.

Gordon Eliot Reade

The statue itself is magnificent. It couldn’t be any more perfect. However I feel the inscription is incomplete. They should have added the words, "As a direct result of their sacrifice mankind successfully reached the moon on July 20th, 1969."

As it is it gives the false impression that his death was in vain.

Jurg Bolli

Very nice.

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