[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 74 (Thursday, May 26, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E961-E962]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     IN HONOR OF SENATOR JOHN GLENN

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. DENNIS J. KUCINICH

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 26, 2011

  Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor soldier, pilot, 
astronaut, and former U.S. Senator, John Glenn. His dedication to Ohio 
and the country has inspired the Great Lakes Science Center to honor 
him at their Reach for the Stars Benefit.
  John Glenn was born in Cambridge, Ohio in 1921. He attended Muskingum 
College, where he earned his pilot's license. Before he had the chance 
to graduate, the United States entered the Second World War. He 
enlisted as a U.S. Navy aviation cadet in 1942 and was reassigned to 
the Marine Corps in 1943. During World War II, he flew 59 missions in 
the South Pacific and he flew 90 combat missions in the Korean War. In 
the late 1950s, he returned to the United States and served as a test 
pilot, and completed the first supersonic transnational flight in 1957.
  In 1959, Glenn was assigned to NASA, and on February 20, 1962 he 
became the fifth person in space and the first American to orbit the 
earth. This marked only one aspect of his illustrious career at NASA, 
which honored him

[[Page E962]]

with the NASA Distinguished Service Medal. Three decades later, in 
1998, John Glenn became the oldest person to ever go into space, at the 
age of 77, in order for NASA to study the effects of space travel on 
seniors.
  John Glenn also served as U.S. Senator from 1974 until 1999. He 
served as chair of the Committee on Government Affairs, sat on the 
Foreign Affairs and Armed Services committees, and was the chief author 
of the 1978 Nonproliferation Act. His exemplary public service was 
recognized by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, 
which awarded him the Woodrow Wilson Award for Public Service in 2004. 
He has also received the Congressional Space Medal of Honor and the 
Congressional Gold Medal. In 1998 he founded The Ohio State 
University's John Glenn Institute for Public Service and Public Policy, 
now known as the John Glenn School of Public Affairs.
  Mr. Speaker and colleagues, please join me in honor and recognition 
of a national hero, John Glenn. His dedication to education and country 
serve as an inspiration to us all.

                          ____________________