Visit of astronauts Major L. Gordon Cooper, Lieutenant Colonel Virgil I. Gus Grissom, Major Donald K. Deke Slayton, Lieutenant Commander Walter Schirra, Lieutenant Commander M. Scott Carpenter, Commander Alan B. Shepard, and their wives. President John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy visit with six of the Mercury Seven astronauts and their wives in the Yellow Oval Room of the White House, Washington, D.C.; President Kennedy presented the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) to astronaut Major L. Gordon Cooper earlier in the day. Seated (L-R): Jo Schirra, Betty Grissom, Major Cooper. Standing (L-R): Commander Walter M. Schirra, Louise Shepard, President Kennedy, Mrs. Kennedy, Rene Carpenter, Commander Alan B. Shepard, Trudy Cooper, Lieutenant Commander M. Scott Carpenter, Major Virgil I. Gus Grissom, Marjorie Slayton, Major Donald K. Deke Slayton.