Edward Higgins White, II (Lt Col, USAF) (November 14, 1930 – January 27, 1967) was an engineer, United States Air Force officer and NASA astronaut. On June 3, 1965, he became the first American to "walk" in space. White died along with fellow astronauts Gus Grissom and Roger Chaffee during a pre-launch test for the first manned Apollo mission at Cape Kennedy. He was awarded the NASA Distinguished Service Medal for his Gemini 4 spaceflight and was posthumously awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor.