12-08-2016, 09:09 PM
DEC 8 2016, 3:43 PM ET
by PHIL MCCAUSLAND and JON SCHUPPE
John Glenn, a war hero who became the first American to orbit the Earth and later served four terms in the U.S. Senate, has died in his home state of Ohio.
He was 95.
Glenn's death was announced Thursday by officials at Ohio State University, where he was being treated at James Cancer Hospital. Glenn had experienced a number of health problems in recent years, including a stroke he suffered two years ago after having had heart valve replacement surgery.
"We are saddened by the loss of Sen. John Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth. A true American hero," NASA said. "Godspeed, John Glenn. Ad astra [to the stars]." The author Tom Wolfe wrote that Glenn, once a small-town American, became "the last true national hero America has ever made."
![[Image: ss-120216-john-glenn-16an_055aa8908b2358...00-480.jpg]](http://media2.s-nbcnews.com/j/newscms/2016_49/1824466/ss-120216-john-glenn-16an_055aa8908b235890eadc773f8f9e16fd.nbcnews-ux-600-480.jpg)
John Glenn shows off his Congressional Gold Medal in the Capitol Rotunda with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, left, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, right, in November 2011. Evan Vucci / AP
But that's not the only title Glenn earned during his career. As a Marine fighter pilot, while flying 149 combat missions during World War II and the Korean War, he was given the nickname "Old Magnet Ass" for his ability to draw enemy fire and keep his plane flying with huge holes blown into its exterior. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross six times.
Most Americans remember Glenn for having taken to space in 1962. Dubbed Friendship 7, Glenn's space capsule circled the Earth and put the United States on equal footing with the Soviet Union in the space race.
Glenn joined Mercury 7, America's first class of astronauts, after setting the transcontinental speed record as a test pilot. He said he aimed to be the first man in space, but ehe was relegated to a backup role behind Alan Shepard.
A Russian cosmonaut beat them to it, and Glenn got the Americans' lead role on Feb. 20, 1962, riding a Mercury-Atlas rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Upon seeing the Earth from 100 miles for the first time, Glenn famously remarked: "Oh, that view is tremendous!"
America's New Frontiersman then traveled around the globe three times at 17,500 mph, spending five hours in space.
Glenn's re-entry was particularly shaky, and his capsule nearly burned up in the atmosphere, but when he came down in the ocean 800 miles southeast of Bermuda, the country cheered.
Glenn was met by President John F. Kennedy, with whom he became friends. Later, he would pursue a political career. His first two attempts at the U.S. Senate failed, but he won a seat from Ohio in 1974. A liberal Democrat, he served four terms and retired in 1999. He briefly ran for president in 1984.
"John Glenn is, and always will be, Ohio's ultimate hometown hero, and his passing today is an occasion for all of us to grieve," Ohio Gov. John Kasich said. "As we bow our heads and share our grief with his beloved wife, Annie, we must also turn to the skies, to salute his remarkable journeys and his long years of service to our state and nation."
Those a bit younger might remember Glenn's return to space while he was still in the Senate. Then 77, Glenn took to space one last time on the shuttle Discovery, becoming the oldest person to make the trip.
More recently, Glenn received the Congressional Gold Medal in 2011
May his flight in space and time be all that he had lived for .... He is already missed here
They were to give him yet another medal today in New Concord Oh ... That's not but a few miles from where I sit today ... I remember his first space flight.... Time and Tide wait for no man .... A true American hero ...
by PHIL MCCAUSLAND and JON SCHUPPE
John Glenn, a war hero who became the first American to orbit the Earth and later served four terms in the U.S. Senate, has died in his home state of Ohio.
He was 95.
Glenn's death was announced Thursday by officials at Ohio State University, where he was being treated at James Cancer Hospital. Glenn had experienced a number of health problems in recent years, including a stroke he suffered two years ago after having had heart valve replacement surgery.
"We are saddened by the loss of Sen. John Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth. A true American hero," NASA said. "Godspeed, John Glenn. Ad astra [to the stars]." The author Tom Wolfe wrote that Glenn, once a small-town American, became "the last true national hero America has ever made."
John Glenn shows off his Congressional Gold Medal in the Capitol Rotunda with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, left, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, right, in November 2011. Evan Vucci / AP
But that's not the only title Glenn earned during his career. As a Marine fighter pilot, while flying 149 combat missions during World War II and the Korean War, he was given the nickname "Old Magnet Ass" for his ability to draw enemy fire and keep his plane flying with huge holes blown into its exterior. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross six times.
Most Americans remember Glenn for having taken to space in 1962. Dubbed Friendship 7, Glenn's space capsule circled the Earth and put the United States on equal footing with the Soviet Union in the space race.
Glenn joined Mercury 7, America's first class of astronauts, after setting the transcontinental speed record as a test pilot. He said he aimed to be the first man in space, but ehe was relegated to a backup role behind Alan Shepard.
A Russian cosmonaut beat them to it, and Glenn got the Americans' lead role on Feb. 20, 1962, riding a Mercury-Atlas rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Upon seeing the Earth from 100 miles for the first time, Glenn famously remarked: "Oh, that view is tremendous!"
America's New Frontiersman then traveled around the globe three times at 17,500 mph, spending five hours in space.
Glenn's re-entry was particularly shaky, and his capsule nearly burned up in the atmosphere, but when he came down in the ocean 800 miles southeast of Bermuda, the country cheered.
Glenn was met by President John F. Kennedy, with whom he became friends. Later, he would pursue a political career. His first two attempts at the U.S. Senate failed, but he won a seat from Ohio in 1974. A liberal Democrat, he served four terms and retired in 1999. He briefly ran for president in 1984.
"John Glenn is, and always will be, Ohio's ultimate hometown hero, and his passing today is an occasion for all of us to grieve," Ohio Gov. John Kasich said. "As we bow our heads and share our grief with his beloved wife, Annie, we must also turn to the skies, to salute his remarkable journeys and his long years of service to our state and nation."
Those a bit younger might remember Glenn's return to space while he was still in the Senate. Then 77, Glenn took to space one last time on the shuttle Discovery, becoming the oldest person to make the trip.
More recently, Glenn received the Congressional Gold Medal in 2011
May his flight in space and time be all that he had lived for .... He is already missed here
They were to give him yet another medal today in New Concord Oh ... That's not but a few miles from where I sit today ... I remember his first space flight.... Time and Tide wait for no man .... A true American hero ...