I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 703 
To establish the 50th Anniversary Apollo I Memorial. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 27, 2017 
Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas (for herself, Mr. HUIZENGA, Mr. 
SMITH of Washington, Mr. POSEY, Mr. WALZ, Mr. BRIDENSTINE, Mr. 
FOSTER, Mr. TAKANO, Mr. TONKO, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. 
BEYER, Mr. LANGEVIN, Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts, Ms. BONAMICI, 
Ms. BORDALLO, Mr. KILMER, Ms. LOFGREN, Mr. BILIRAKIS, Mr. HOL-
LINGSWORTH, Mr. COOPER, and Mr. PERLMUTTER) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services, and 
in addition to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs, and Science, Space, 
and Technology, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within 
the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To establish the 50th Anniversary Apollo I Memorial. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Apollo I Memorial 
Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
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(1) On January 27, 1967, NASA Astronauts 
Command Pilot Virgil I. ‘‘Gus’’ Grissom, Senior 
Pilot Edward H. White II, and Pilot Roger B. 
Chaffee were killed in an electrical fire that broke 
out inside the Apollo I Command Module on Launch 
Pad 34 at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Ca-
naveral, Florida. 
(2) Command Pilot Virgil Grissom was selected 
by NASA in 1959 as one of the original seven Mer-
cury astronauts. He piloted the Liberty Bell 7 space-
craft on July 21, 1963, on the second and final Mer-
cury suborbital test flight, served as command pilot 
on the first manned Gemini flight on March 23, 
1965, and was named as Command Pilot of the first 
Apollo flight. He began his career in the United 
States Army Air Corps and was a Lieutenant Colo-
nel in the United States Air Force at the time of the 
accident, and he is buried at Arlington National 
Cemetery. 
(3) Senior Pilot Edward H. White II was se-
lected by NASA as a member of the second astro-
naut team in 1962. He piloted the Gemini-4 mission, 
a 4-day mission that took place in June 1965, dur-
ing which he conducted the first extravehicular activ-
ity in the United States human spaceflight program. 
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He was named as Command Module Pilot for the 
first Apollo flight. He began his career as a cadet 
in United States Military Academy at West Point 
and was a Lieutenant Colonel in the United States 
Air Force at the time of the accident. 
(4) Pilot Roger B. Chaffee was selected by 
NASA as part of the third group of astronauts in 
1963. He was named as the Lunar Module Pilot for 
the first Apollo flight. He began his career as a 
ROTC cadet before commissioning as an ensign in 
the United States Navy, he was a Lieutenant Com-
mander in the United States Navy at the time of the 
accident, and he is buried at Arlington National 
Cemetery. 
(5) All 3 astronauts were posthumously award-
ed the Congressional Space Medal of Honor. 
(6) As Arlington National Cemetery is where 
we recognize heroes who have passed in the service 
of our Nation, it is fitting on the 50th anniversary 
of the Apollo I accident that we acknowledge those 
astronauts by building a memorial in their honor. 
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SEC. 3. CONSTRUCTION OF MEMORIAL TO THE CREW OF 
THE APOLLO I LAUNCH TEST ACCIDENT AT 
ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY. 
(a) CONSTRUCTION REQUIRED.—The Secretary of 
the Army shall, in consultation with the Administrator of 
the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, con-
struct at an appropriate place in Arlington National Cem-
etery, Virginia, a memorial marker honoring the three 
members of the crew of the Apollo I crew who died during 
a launch rehearsal test on January 27, 1967, in Cape Ca-
naveral, Florida. 
(b) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Of the amount appro-
priated or otherwise made available for fiscal year 2017 
for operations and maintenance for the Army, $500,000 
shall be available for the construction of the memorial 
marker required by subsection (a). 
SEC. 4. DONATIONS FOR A MEMORIAL FOR THE CREW OF 
THE APOLLO I LAUNCH TEST ACCIDENT. 
(a) AUTHORITY TO ACCEPT DONATIONS.—The Ad-
ministrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Admin-
istration may accept gifts and donations of services, 
money, and property (including personal, tangible, or in-
tangible property) for the memorial marker required by 
section 3. 
(b) TRANSFER.—(1) The Administrator may transfer 
to the Secretary of the Army any services, money, or prop-
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