John Glenn Quotes

John Herschel Glenn Jr. was born in Cambridge, Ohio, USA. He was an American astronaut, Marine Corps aviator, and Democratic politician. He served as United States Senator from Ohio (1974-1999). He earned a BS degree in Engineering from Muskingum College, Ohio. Before joining NASA, he was a distinguished fighter pilot in World War II, China and Korea. He shot down three MiG-15 aircraft, and was awarded six Distinguished Flying Crosses and eighteen Air Medals. In 1957, he made the first supersonic transcontinental flight across the United States. He was one of the Mercury Seven, military test pilots selected in 1959 by NASA as the United States' first astronauts. On February 20, 1962, Glenn flew the Friendship 7 mission, becoming the first American to orbit the Earth, and the fifth person and third American in space. He received the NASA Distinguished Service Medal in 1962 and the Congressional Space Medal of Honor in 1978. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012.