FEATURED ///
Dec 09, 2016
John Glenn, American Hero of the Space Age, Continues to Inspire
John Glenn, American Hero of the Space Age, Continues to Inspire
"My earliest memory of the space program was the tragic failure of Apollo 1. That spiked my interest in the space program and actually inspired me to become a fighter pilot. At the time, that was typically the path to becoming an astronaut.”"
-
John Fristachi, ADS Market Manager
John Fristachi is a retired Navy Captain and Naval Aviator. He served on the Pentagon staff and has congressional liaison experience. John has worked at ADS Inc. for five years and currently runs the Aerospace market. His son, Cosmos Fristachi, is a sophomore at The Ohio State University and a member of the John Glenn Leadership Community. Cosmos was able to hear John Glenn speak before his passing.
“Listening to Senator John Glenn pontificate on the details of a life lived to the absolute fullest was a blessing. Whether it was his time in the senate, as a test pilot or in space, this man was always striving for greatness. We should all follow his example. Never should we settle for this or that; John Glenn is a prime example of the fact that anything is possible if you set your mind to it. His inspiration will not soon be forgotten by me, nor any others to have met him,” said Cosmos.
TOP 10 JOHN GLENN MOMENTS
1. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in World War II, John Glenn dropped out of college and enlisted in the Marine Corps.
2. While serving in the Marine Corps and before joining NASA, Glenn was a distinguished fighter pilot in both World War II and Korea. During the two wars, he served on 149 combat missions.
3. In 1958, John Glenn was selected to join one of the military test pilot programs while still enlisted in the Marine Corps. Glenn barely made the cutoff at the age of 40.
4. He was one of the first military test pilots in the 1959 “Mercury Seven” group, and was one of America’s first astronauts.
5. On February 20, 1962, John Glenn was one of the first Americans to orbit the earth aboard the Friendship.
6. On February 23, 1962, Glenn’s fame resulted in him receiving the NASA Distinguished Service Medal by President Kennedy, whom he later became close friends with.
7. John Glenn resigned from NASA in 1964 and announced plans to run for a U.S. Senate seat from Ohio. He won his very first election in 1974 and served in the Senate until January 3, 1999.
8. He retired from the Marine Corps in 1965, after serving for 23 years. He received more than 15 medals and awards during his service.
9. Glenn founded the Institute for Public Service and Public Policy at The Ohio State University in 1998. In 2006, it merged with OSU’s school of Public Policy and became the John Glenn School of Public Affairs.
10. While in the U.S. Senate, John Glenn was one of the oldest people to fly in space and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012.
Source: Wikipedia, TIME
