Editing Gus Grissom (section)

== Early life ==
Virgil Ivan Grissom was born in the small town of [[Mitchell, Indiana]], on April 3, 1926,{{sfn|Burgess|Doolan|Vis|2008|p=88}} to Dennis David Grissom (1903–1994), a signalman for the [[Baltimore and Ohio Railroad]], and Cecile King Grissom (1901–1995), a homemaker. Virgil was the family's second child (an older sister died in infancy shortly before his birth). He was followed by three younger siblings: a sister, Wilma, and two brothers, Norman and Lowell.{{sfn|Boomhower|2004|pp=39–40}} Grissom started school at Riley grade school. His interest in flying began during that time, building model airplanes.{{sfn|Burgess|Doolan|Vis|2008|p=88}} He received his nickname when his friend was reading his name on a scorecard upside down and misread "Griss" as "Gus".{{sfn|Burgess|Doolan|Vis|2008|p=88}}

As a youth, Grissom attended the local [[Churches of Christ|Church of Christ]], where he remained a lifelong member. He joined the local [[Boy Scouts of America|Boy Scout]] Troop and earned the rank of [[Star (Boy Scouts of America)|Star Scout]].<ref name=Scouting>{{cite web|url=http://www.scouting.org/About/FactSheets/scouting_space.aspx|access-date=June 25, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304032406/http://www.scouting.org/about/factsheets/scouting_space.aspx|archive-date=March 4, 2016|title=Scouting and Space Exploration|publisher=Boy Scouts of America}}</ref> Grissom credited the Scouts for his love of hunting and fishing. He was the leader of the honor guard in his troop.{{sfn|Burgess|Doolan|Vis|2008|p=89}} His first jobs were delivering newspapers for ''[[The Indianapolis Star]]'' in the morning and the ''Bedford Times'' in the evening.{{sfn|Burgess|Doolan|Vis|2008|p=88}} In the summer he picked fruit in area orchards and worked at a dry-goods store.{{sfn|Burgess|Doolan|Vis|2008|p=89}} He also worked at a local meat market, a service station, and a clothing store in Mitchell.

Grissom started attending [[Mitchell High School (Indiana)|Mitchell High School]] in 1940.{{sfn|Burgess|Doolan|Vis|2008|p=89}} He wanted to play varsity basketball but he was too short. His father encouraged him to find sports he was more suited for, and he joined the swimming team.{{sfn|Burgess|Doolan|Vis|2008|p=89}} Although he excelled at mathematics, Grissom was an average high school student in other subjects.{{sfn|Boomhower|2004|pp=42–43}} He graduated from high school in 1944.

In addition, Grissom occasionally spent time at a local airport in [[Bedford, Indiana]], where he first became interested in aviation. A local attorney who owned a small plane would take him on flights and taught him the basics of flying.{{sfn|Boomhower|2004|p=47}}

Grissom was a [[Freemasonry|Freemason]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=MacKeen |first=Jason |date=May 24, 2022 |title=Famous Freemason - Virgil Grissom |url=https://www.fellowshiplodge5797.com/post/famous-freemason-virgil-grissom |access-date=March 14, 2023 |website=Fellowship Lodge |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=February 20, 2009 |title=Famous Freemasons in History {{!}} Freemason Information |url=https://freemasoninformation.com/masonic-education/famous/famous-freemasons-in-history/ |access-date=March 14, 2023 |language=en-US}}</ref>