John Glenn, American Hero of the Space Age, Continues to Inspire

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