President John F. Kennedy & Astronaut Wife Martha Chaffee

If President John F. Kennedy had lived to serve his two terms as President, he would have met Roger Chaffee, one of three astronauts chosen for the launch of Apollo 1 in early 1967, the first Apollo spacecraft of President Kennedy's goal to land a man on the moon before the end of the 1960's. 

President Kennedy had a keen eye for beauty in a woman.

Roger Chaffee would have been invited to meet President Kennedy in the White House with his wife and two young children, as the Mercury and Gemini NASA astronauts were, including Rene Carpenter (wife of astronaut Scott Carpenter), an attractive blonde who had been President Kennedy's personal favorite of the astronaut wives, up till then...

But if JFK set eyes on Martha Chaffee in 1967, he would have been knocked out by her matchless beauty!

Martha Chaffee would have become JFK's 

absolute favorite astronaut wife!

 

Astronaut Michael Collins (Apollo 11) raved about Martha Chaffee in his book, "Carrying the Fire"!

"Of all the astronaut wives, Martha stood out. Usually Martha stood out because of her beauty. She had everything: the healthy cheeriness of a college cheerleader, wide cheekbones, a perfect chin, a model's poise, an athlete's trim body.

Of all the astronaut wives, Martha Chaffee stood out in a group, her bronzed blondness shining like the Cape of Good Hope beacon.

Besides all that, she had a good head - optimistic, bright, helpful to Roger in his zany new career.."

Martha Chaffee - wife of Roger

Roger Chaffee, astronaut, and his family:
Martha (wife), Sheryl (daughter), Stephen (son).

Martha Chaffee studies moon topography with Roger, who would have been one of the astronauts to walk on the moon.

Martha Chaffee with their children, 

Sheryl and Stephen:

Martha Chaffee, working out at a gym, 1960's:

Apollo 1: Fire in the Cockpit

January 27, 1967 - Astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee died locked in the Apollo 1 capsule during a routine "plugs out" test - in pure oxygen.

Below: Gene Cernan, fellow astronaut and next door neighbor to Roger Chaffee,
& Martha Chaffee.

 Sheryl Chaffee, Martha Chaffee, Gene Cernan (the last man on the moon),
and Stephen Chaffee.

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Martha marries William Canfield in 1968:

Roger Chaffee's Wife - Martha Chaffee

Martha Louise Horn, wife of Apollo 1 astronaut Roger Bruce Chaffee, was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. She graduated from Classen High School in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, in 1955. 

Here she is as a sophomore, from the 1953 yearbook ("The Orbit"), with the school symbol, a falling star:

Martha, a stand-out beauty at just 15, was a  "Classettes" cheerleader at Classen High School in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, in 1953. {left, below}

Martha's parents recognized the unique gifts of their beautiful daughter, and supported her application to Purdue University in Indiana; a university that attracted many promising engineers - and is regarded as the cradle of astronauts.

Speaking of astronauts... Martha Louise Horn met future astronaut Roger Bruce Chaffee while they were both students at Purdue University.

Here is Roger Chaffee in the 1957 Purdue University yearbook:.