John Glenn
John Herschel Glenn Jr. (July 18, 1921 – December 8, 2016) was an American Marine Corps aviator, astronaut, businessman, and politician. He was the third American in space, and the first American to orbit the Earth, circling it three times in 1962.[3] Following his retirement from NASA, he served from 1974 to 1999 as a U.S. Senator from Ohio; in 1998, he flew into space again at the age of 77.
"Senator Glenn" redirects here. For other uses, see Senator Glenn (disambiguation).
John Glenn
William Roth
December 8, 2016 (aged 95)
Columbus, Ohio, U.S.
2
1941–1965
- Distinguished Flying Cross (6)
- Air Medal (18)
4h 55m 23s[1]
January 16, 1964
9d 19h 54m[2]
Before joining NASA, Glenn was a distinguished fighter pilot in World War II, the Chinese Civil War and the Korean War. He shot down three MiG-15s, and was awarded six Distinguished Flying Crosses and eighteen Air Medals. In 1957, he made the first supersonic transcontinental flight across the United States. His on-board camera took the first continuous, panoramic photograph of the United States.
He was one of the Mercury Seven, military test pilots selected in 1959 by NASA as the nation's first astronauts. On February 20, 1962, Glenn flew the Friendship 7 mission, becoming the first American to orbit the Earth, the third American and fifth person in history to be in space. He received the NASA Distinguished Service Medal in 1962, the Congressional Space Medal of Honor in 1978, was inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame in 1990, and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012.
Glenn resigned from NASA in January 1964. A member of the Democratic Party, Glenn was first elected to the Senate in 1974 and served for 24 years, until January 1999. In 1998, at age 77, Glenn flew on Space Shuttle Discovery's STS-95 mission, making him the oldest person to enter Earth orbit, the only person to fly in both the Mercury and the Space Shuttle programs, and the first Member of Congress to visit space since Congressman Bill Nelson (D-FL) in 1986. Glenn, both the oldest and the last surviving member of the Mercury Seven, died at the age of 95 on December 8, 2016.
Early life and education[edit]
John Herschel Glenn Jr. was born on July 18, 1921, in Cambridge, Ohio, the son of John Herschel Glenn Sr. (1895–1966), who worked for a plumbing firm, and Clara Teresa Glenn (née Sproat; 1897–1971), a teacher.[4][5][6] His parents had married shortly before John Sr., a member of the American Expeditionary Force, left for the Western Front during World War I. The family moved to New Concord, Ohio soon after his birth, and his father started his own business, the Glenn Plumbing Company.[7][8] Glenn Jr. was only a toddler when he met Anna Margaret (Annie) Castor, whom he would later marry. The two would not be able to recall a time when they did not know each other.[7] He first flew in an airplane with his father when he was eight years old. He became fascinated by flight, and built model airplanes from balsa wood kits.[9] Along with his adopted sister Jean,[7] he attended New Concord Elementary School.[10] He washed cars and sold rhubarb to earn money to buy a bicycle, after which he took a job delivering The Columbus Dispatch newspaper.[11] He was a member of the Ohio Rangers, an organization similar to the Cub Scouts.[12] His boyhood home in New Concord has been restored as a historic house museum and education center.[13]
Glenn attended New Concord High School, where he played on the varsity football team as a center and linebacker. He also made the varsity basketball and tennis teams, and was involved with Hi-Y, a junior branch of the YMCA.[14] After graduating in 1939, Glenn entered Muskingum College (now Muskingum University), where he studied chemistry,[15][16] joined the Stag Club fraternity,[17] and played on the football team.[18] Annie majored in music with minors in secretarial studies and physical education and competed on the swimming and volleyball teams, graduating in 1942.[18] Glenn earned a private pilot license and a physics course credit for free through the Civilian Pilot Training Program in 1941.[19] He did not complete his senior year in residence or take a proficiency exam, both required by the school for its Bachelor of Science degree.[20][a]
Military career[edit]
World War II[edit]
When the United States entered World War II, Glenn quit college to enlist in the U.S. Army Air Corps.[21] He was not called to duty by the Army, and enlisted as a U.S. Navy aviation cadet in March 1942. Glenn attended the University of Iowa in Iowa City for pre-flight training and made his first solo flight in a military aircraft at Naval Air Station Olathe in Kansas, where he went for primary training. During advanced training at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi in Texas, he accepted an offer to transfer to the U.S. Marine Corps.[22] Having completed his flight training in March 1943, Glenn was commissioned as a second lieutenant. Glenn married Annie in a Presbyterian ceremony at College Drive Church in New Concord, Ohio, on April 6, 1943.[23] After advanced training at Camp Kearny, California, he was assigned to Marine Squadron VMJ-353, which flew R4D transport planes from there.[24]
The fighter squadron VMO-155 was also at Camp Kearny flying the Grumman F4F Wildcat. Glenn approached the squadron's commander, Major J. P. Haines, who suggested that he could put in for a transfer. This was approved, and Glenn was posted to VMO-155 on July 2, 1943, two days before the squadron moved to Marine Corps Air Station El Centro in California.[25] The Wildcat was obsolete by this time, and VMO-155 re-equipped with the F4U Corsair in September 1943.[26] He was promoted to first lieutenant in October 1943, and shipped out to Hawaii in January 1944.[24] VMO-155 became part of the garrison on Midway Atoll on February 21,[27] then moved to the Marshall Islands in June 1944 and flew 57 combat missions in the area.[24][28] He received two Distinguished Flying Crosses and ten Air Medals.[29][30]
At the end of his one-year tour of duty in February 1945, Glenn was assigned to Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point in North Carolina, then to Naval Air Station Patuxent River in Maryland. He was promoted to captain in July 1945 and ordered back to Cherry Point. There, he joined VMF-913, another Corsair squadron, and learned that he had qualified for a regular commission.[24][31] In March 1946, he was assigned to Marine Corps Air Station El Toro in southern California. He volunteered for service with the occupation in North China, believing it would be a short tour. He joined VMF-218 (another Corsair squadron), which was based at Nanyuan Field near Beijing, in December 1946,[32] and flew patrol missions until VMF-218 was transferred to Guam in March 1947.[24][33]
In December 1948, Glenn was re-posted to NAS Corpus Christi as a student at the Naval School of All-Weather Flight before becoming a flight instructor.[24] In July 1951, he traveled to the Amphibious Warfare School at Marine Corps Base Quantico in northern Virginia for a six-month course.[34] He then joined the staff of the commandant of the Marine Corps Schools. He maintained his proficiency (and flight pay) by flying on weekends and was only allowed four hours of flying time per month.[35] He was promoted to major in July 1952.[24] Glenn received the World War II Victory Medal, American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (with one star), Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp), and the China Service Medal for his efforts.[36][37]
Legacy[edit]
Glenn's public life and legacy began when he received his first ticker-tape parade for breaking the transcontinental airspeed record.[300] As a senator, he used his military background to write legislation to reduce nuclear proliferation. He also focused on reducing government waste.[36][301][300] Buzz Aldrin wrote that Glenn's Friendship 7 flight, "... helped to galvanize the country's will and resolution to surmount significant technical challenges of human spaceflight."[302]
President Barack Obama said, "With John's passing, our nation has lost an icon and Michelle and I have lost a friend. John spent his life breaking barriers, from defending our freedom as a decorated Marine Corps fighter pilot in World War II and Korea, to setting a transcontinental speed record, to becoming, at age 77, the oldest human to touch the stars."[303] Obama issued a presidential proclamation on December 9, 2016, ordering the US flag to be flown at half-staff in Glenn's memory.[304] NASA administrator Charles Bolden said: "Senator Glenn's legacy is one of risk and accomplishment, of history created and duty to country carried out under great pressure with the whole world watching".[305][306]