Editing Gus Grissom (section)

== Korean War ==
[[File:Gus Grissom photo portrait head and shoulders.jpg|thumb|upright|right|Grissom in the United States Air Force]]
After he graduated from Purdue, Grissom re-enlisted in the newly formed [[United States Air Force|U.S. Air Force]]. He was accepted into the [[United States Air Force Basic Military Training|Air Cadet Basic Training Program]] at [[Randolph Air Force Base]] in [[Universal City, Texas]]. Upon completion of the program, he was assigned to [[Williams Air Force Base]] in [[Mesa, Arizona]], where his wife, Betty, and infant son, Scott, joined him, but the family remained there only briefly. In March 1951, Grissom received his [[Command Pilot Wings|pilot wings]] and a commission as a [[Second Lieutenant#United States|second lieutenant]]. Nine months later, in December 1951, Grissom and his family moved into new living quarters in [[Presque Isle, Maine]], where he was assigned to [[Presque Isle International Airport|Presque Isle Air Force Base]] and became a member of the [[75th Fighter Squadron|75th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron]].{{sfn|Boomhower|2004|pp=57–60}}

With the ongoing [[Korean War]], Grissom's squadron was dispatched to the war zone in February 1952. There he flew as an [[F-86 Sabre]] replacement pilot and was reassigned to the [[334th Fighter Squadron]] of the [[4th Fighter Wing|4th Fighter Interceptor Wing]] stationed at [[Gimpo International Airport|Kimpo Air Base]].{{sfn|Boomhower|2004|p=63}} He flew one hundred [[Aerial warfare|combat missions]] during approximately six months of service in Korea, including multiple occasions when he broke up air raids from North Korean [[MiG]]s. On March 11, 1952, Grissom was promoted to [[first lieutenant]] and was cited for his "superlative airmanship" for his actions on March 23, 1952, when he flew cover for a photo reconnaissance mission.{{sfn|Boomhower|2004|pp=63–68}} Grissom was also awarded the [[Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)|Distinguished Flying Cross]] and the [[Air Medal]] with an [[oak leaf cluster]] for his military service in Korea.{{sfn|Burgess|2014|p=59}}

After flying his quota of one hundred missions, Grissom asked to remain in Korea to fly another twenty-five flights, but his request was denied. Grissom returned to the United States to serve as a [[flight instructor]] at [[Bryan Air Force Base|Bryan AFB]] in [[Bryan, Texas]], where he was joined by his wife, Betty, and son, Scott. The Grissoms' second child, Mark, was born there in 1953. Grissom soon learned that flight instructors faced their own set of on-the-job risks. During a training exercise with a cadet, the trainee pilot caused a flap to break off from their two-seat trainer, sending it into a roll. Grissom quickly climbed from the rear seat of the small aircraft to take over the controls and safely land it.{{sfn|Boomhower|2004|pp=68–69}}

In August 1955, Grissom was reassigned to the U.S. [[Air Force Institute of Technology]] (AFIT) at [[Wright-Patterson Air Force Base]] near [[Dayton, Ohio]] of [[Air University (United States Air Force)|Air University]]. After completing the year-long course he earned a [[bachelor's degree]] in [[aeromechanics]] in 1956.{{sfn|Boomhower|2004|p=71}} In October 1956, he entered the [[U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School]] at [[Edwards Air Force Base]] in California, and returned to Wright-Patterson AFB in [[Ohio]] in May 1957, after attaining the rank of [[Captain (United States)|captain]]. Grissom served as a [[test pilot]] assigned to the fighter branch.<ref name="GG">{{cite web|work=U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame|url=http://www.astronautscholarship.org/grissom.html|title=Astronaut Biographies: Virgil I. (Gus) Grissom|access-date=January 23, 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071008201355/http://www.astronautscholarship.org/grissom.html|archive-date=October 8, 2007}}</ref><ref name="jscbio">{{cite web|work=NASA|url=https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/grissom_virgil.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/grissom_virgil.pdf |archive-date=October 9, 2022 |url-status=live|title=Astronaut Bio: Virgil I. Grissom|access-date=February 19, 2021 |date=December 1997}}</ref>{{sfn|Boomhower|2004|pp=72–74}}