Glenn, John

Date of birth: July 18, 1921.

Place of birth: Cambridge, Ohio.

Major contributions: Pilot of first transcontinental flight to average super­sonic speed; first American to orbit Earth; oldest person to fly in space.

Awards: NASA Distinguished Service Medal; Congressional Space Medal of Honor.

John Glenn grew up in the small town of New Concord, Ohio. He became interested in science and aviation as a young boy. After graduat­ing from high school, Glenn studied at Muskingum College in his hometown and gained a degree in engineering.

Becoming a Pilot

In 1942, he joined the U. S. Navy and trained as a pilot. Glenn became an offi­
cer with the U. S. Marines in 1943. Soon after Glenn received his commission in the Marine Corps, he married Annie Castor, the childhood playmate who had become his girlfriend during high school and college.

During World War II, Glenn flew nearly sixty missions as a fighter pilot. After the war, he trained other pilots. When the Korean War broke out in 1950, Glenn volunteered for combat and flew nearly ninety more missions. In the two wars, he won six Distinguished Flying Crosses, along with several other mili­tary honors.

After the Korean War, Glenn became a test pilot. He gained national fame in 1957 by flying a plane from Los Angeles to New York City in less than 3/2 hours. That new speed record marked the first flight across the country with an average speed faster than the speed of sound.