U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Thomas Grubaugh watched as Sigma 7, the Project Mercury space capsule piloted by astronaut Wally Schirra, splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on Oct. 3, 1962. At the time, Schirra was only the third American to orbit the Earth. Grubaugh snapped photographs of the historic moment from the aircraft carrier USS Kearsarge. “The ship had to slow down,” he later wrote, “or we would have hit the capsule.”
Grubaugh and his fellow Marines had lined the rails on the ship’s bow to watch as “frogmen”, or Navy divers, attached a flotation collar around the spacecraft, which was then hauled on board by a crane. Schirra blew the hatch and climbed out, to the applause of the crew, NASA officials and other astronauts—including fellow Marine John Glenn—who had come aboard to watch the splashdown. The dramatic incident left an indelible impression on Grubaugh. Even decades later, in a 2018 podcast interview, he spoke about overhearing Schirra say, “‘This thing [the capsule] was shaking so bad I thought it was going to blow up.’”
Yet Grubaugh’s long service to his country encompassed much more than witnessing a key moment in the space race. He served in the Marine Corps for 20 years and then supported warfighters as a civilian logistician for another 26 years, retiring in 2006.
On Aug. 21, 2025, Grubaugh and his wife, Barbara, who passed away in 2017, were buried and honored together at Arlington National Cemetery.
Grubaugh joined the Marine Corps on July 10, 1960. He served aboard the Kearsarge for his first two years and later specialized in repairing jet aircraft. While training at Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia, he met Barbara Ellis, who was working at the Navy Exchange. They married six months later, on July 10, 1965—the five-year anniversary of Grubaugh’s enlistment. The couple had two children, Heather and Christopher.
Six weeks after Heather was born, Grubaugh shipped off for a 13-month tour in Vietnam, where he repaired aircraft at the Chu Lai Air Base. “When he came back, of course, I didn’t know who he was,” she remembered. “My parents told me that I would just scream and scream when this man came over to the crib.” Missing moments in his personal life were a sacrifice he was willing to make for the Marine Corps. “He was always about the warfighter,” Heather said. Grubaugh later served tours in Japan and Ireland before retiring from the Marine Corps in 1980.
Barbara too, was dedicated to the military. Before she passed away, she told Heather that she wanted to be buried with her husband at Arlington National Cemetery. “My mother loved Arlington because of the historic meaning behind the cemetery,” Heather said.
At the funeral service, Father Michael Wilson led the family and friends in prayer before describing the couple's lives as a blessing. “In a military family, I know the wife does a lot that never gets recognized, but she's always there, especially for the family,” he said. Addressing both Cpl. and Barbara, Wilson concluded, “I thank you for your service to our country.”
Heather cried when Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Randy Harshbarger presented the flag to her. As the family carried the urns to their burial place, a bagpiper played several songs, ending with “The Marines’ Hymn.” Heather smiled as she recognized the tune. “That was perfect,” she said. “That was for my mom. She's Scottish by heritage, so the bagpipes were for her.”
After the funeral, Heather reflected on her parents. “Mom was the type of woman who would meet someone standing in line at the grocery store and suddenly, they’re best friends,” she recalled. “Everyone loved her.” Heather’s father, meanwhile, taught her never to be late. “He would tell us, ‘If you’re not 15 minutes early to a meeting, you’re late,’” she said. She has passed her father’s maxim on to her own children.
Over the years, Heather asked her father about his service in Vietnam, but he never spoke about the war. He was more willing to talk about witnessing Schirra splash down after orbiting the Earth. “He was very proud of that,” she said.