There are two main tributes to Grissom, who qualifies as an American hero in anyone's book. One is a Memorial at the State Park a few miles east of town. There you can see some personal belongings that were donated by the family, as well as the actual Gemini 3 capsule that Grissom used to go into space in 1965. A movie about Grissom's life also is shown. I'm not sure why this is in the state park, since you have to pay an admission fee to get into the area. Maybe the state of Indiana built it. Anyway, space fans will like it.
Back in town is a more personal tribute. This is a limestone replica of the Gemini 3 spacecraft. It's located on the spot that formerly hosted Grissom's elementary school; the bricks from that building surround the rocket model. Grissom has a street named after him, and his childhood home is available for tours at times.
In 1967, Grissom and two others lost their lives because of a fire during a test of the new Apollo 1 spacecraft. It is simply hard to imagine what a shock that news bulletin must have been to the residents of this town. It was thought at the time that Grissom might end up as the first man to walk on the moon. Hopefully his contributions to the space program won't be forgotten.
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