Edward Higgins "Ed" White II (November 14, 1930 – January 27, 1967), (
Lt Col,
USAF), was an
American aeronautical engineer,
U.S. Air Force officer,
test pilot, and
NASA astronaut. On June 3, 1965, he became the first American to
"walk" in space. White died along with his fellow astronauts
Virgil "Gus" Grissom and
Roger B. Chaffee during prelaunch testing for the
first manned Apollo mission at
Cape Canaveral. He was awarded the
NASA Distinguished Service Medal for his flight in
Gemini 4 and then awarded the
Congressional Space Medal of Honor posthumously.