[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 31 (Saturday, February 17, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2218-S2219]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




RECOGNIZING THE 45TH ANNIVERSARY OF JOHN HERSHEL GLENN, JR.'S HISTORIC 
                              ACHIEVEMENT

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Judiciary 
Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. Res. 81 and 
the Senate then proceed to its consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The clerk 
will report the resolution by title.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (S. Res. 81) recognizing the 45th anniversary of 
     John Hershel Glenn, Jr's historic achievement in becoming the 
     first United States astronaut to orbit the Earth.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I know the time is late and a lot of people 
want to go a lot of different places, but I have to say that John Glenn 
is one of the most amazing people I have ever known, to think that I 
had the opportunity to serve with him in this body, a man who was an 
ace in World War II, knocking down enemy aircraft in his marine 
vehicle. He was an ace in the Korean war and, of course, America's most 
famous astronaut.
  I will just say in passing, when I first came here as a Senator, at 
our Tuesday luncheon, Senator Glenn said: Does anybody want to go with 
me? I am going to go out on the USS Kennedy, which is an aircraft 
carrier. He said: I am going to watch some landings. I said: Well, gee, 
John Glenn, aircraft carrier, which I have never been on. I said: I 
will try that. And I did.
  It was interesting. We flew out in an airplane. It was stopped very 
quickly because a hook grabbed the airplane. Then I watched these new 
pilots, who had never landed on an aircraft carrier, coming in, wings 
wobbling. They would wave some off: ``Dirty, dirty''--that is the word 
they used to get this thing out of there. Lots of them landed.
  Then John Glenn got in one of those planes and was catapulted off the 
aircraft carrier and came in on a landing himself. He is an amazing 
man.
  I have one final story about John Glenn. My office was in the Hart 
Building. Nevada had the champions in double Dutch jump-roping. They 
were out in the atrium of the Hart Building showing me what they could 
do. It is amazing--several people jumping at the same time. They asked 
me to do it. I made--I wouldn't say a fool of myself, but I couldn't do 
it. I didn't realize John Glenn was standing watching this. Here is a 
man, at the time had to be 70 years old, and he walked over and said: 
Can I try that? He was like one of the kids. An amazing man.
  This is a resolution recognizing the 45th anniversary of his historic 
achievement. Becoming the first U.S. astronaut to orbit the Earth is 
only one of the achievements this great man did--and he is still 
healthy and strong--with his wonderful wife Annie.
  I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the 
preamble be agreed to, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, 
and that any statements relating to the measure be printed in the 
Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolution (S. Res. 81) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

                               S. Res. 81

       Whereas John Herschel Glenn, Jr. was born on July 18, 1921, 
     in Cambridge, Ohio, and grew up in New Concord, a small 
     college town a few miles from the larger city of Zanesville, 
     Ohio;
       Whereas John Glenn attended New Concord High School and 
     earned a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering from 
     Muskingum College, which also awarded him an honorary Doctor 
     of Science degree in engineering;
       Whereas John Glenn enlisted in the Naval Aviation Cadet 
     Program shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor and was 
     commissioned in the United States Marine Corps in 1943;
       Whereas John Glenn served in combat in the South Pacific 
     and also requested combat duty during the Korean conflict.
       Whereas John Glenn was a dedicated military officer, flying 
     149 missions during 2 wars;
       Whereas John Glenn received many honors for his military 
     service, among them the Distinguished Flying Cross on 6 
     occasions, the Air Medal with 18 Clusters, the Asiatic-
     Pacific Campaign Medal, the American Campaign Medal, the 
     World War II Victory Medal, the China Service Medal, the 
     National Defense Service Medal, and the Korean Service Medal;
       Whereas John Glenn served several years as a test pilot on 
     Navy and Marine Corps jet fighters and attack aircraft;
       Whereas, as a test pilot, John Glenn set a transcontinental 
     speed record in 1957 by completing the first flight to 
     average supersonic speeds from Los Angeles to New York;

[[Page S2219]]

       Whereas John Glenn was a pioneer in the realm of space 
     exploration and was selected in 1959 as one of the original 7 
     astronauts in the United States space program, entering the 
     National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) 
     Project Mercury;
       Whereas John Glenn was assigned to the NASA Space Task 
     Group at Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia;
       Whereas, in 1962, the Space Task Group was moved to 
     Houston, Texas, and became part of the NASA Manned Spacecraft 
     Center;
       Whereas, on February 20, 1962, John Glenn piloted the 
     Mercury-Atlas 6 ``Friendship 7'' spacecraft on the first 
     manned orbital mission of the United States;
       Whereas, after launching from the Kennedy Space Center in 
     Florida, John Glenn completed a 3-orbit mission around the 
     planet, reaching an approximate maximum altitude of 162 
     statute miles and an approximate orbital velocity of 17,500 
     miles per hour;
       Whereas John Glenn landed Friendship 7 approximately 5 
     hours later, 800 miles southeast of the Kennedy Space Center 
     near Grand Turk Island;
       Whereas, with that pioneering flight, John Glenn joined his 
     colleagues Alan Shepard and Virgil Grissom in realizing the 
     dream of space exploration and engaging the minds and 
     imaginations of his and future generations in the vast 
     potential of space exploration;
       Whereas, after retiring from the space program, John Glenn 
     continued his public service as a distinguished member of the 
     Senate, in which he served for 24 years;
       Whereas John Glenn has continued his public service through 
     his work at the John Glenn Institute at Ohio State 
     University, which was established to foster public 
     involvement in the policy-making process, raise public 
     awareness about key policy issues, and encourage continuous 
     improvement in the management of public enterprise;
       Whereas, in March 1999, Secretary of Education Richard W. 
     Riley appointed John Glenn as Chair of the newly formed 
     National Commission on Mathematics and Science Teaching for 
     the 21st Century;
       Whereas the Commission played a pivotal role in improving 
     the quality of teaching in mathematics and science in the 
     United States;
       Whereas, in 1998, John Glenn returned to space after 36 
     years as a member of the crew of the space shuttle Discovery, 
     serving as a payload specialist and as a subject for basic 
     research on how weightlessness affects the body of an older 
     person; and
       Whereas, combined with his previous missions, John Glenn 
     logged over 218 hours in space: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) honors the 45th anniversary of John Hershel Glenn, 
     Jr.'s landmark mission piloting the first manned orbital 
     mission of the United States; and
       (2) recognizes the profound importance of John Glenn's 
     achievement as a catalyst to space exploration and scientific 
     advancement in the United States.

                          ____________________