John Herschel Glenn, Jr. (July 18, 1921-December 8, 2016) was an astronaut and U.S. Senator from Ohio, elected 1975. He was the first American to orbit in space. America's first mission to orbit the earth was Friendship 7, piloted by Astronaut John Glenn, February 20, 1962. As rockets fired up, backup pilot Scott Carpenter, the second astronaut to orbit the earth, radioed from the blockhouse:
<Godspeed, John Glenn.> 1921JG002 Colonel John H. Glenn, Jr. stated:
<Freedom, devotion to God and country are not things of the past. They will never become old-fashioned.> 1921JG001
Later that year, President Kennedy stated at Rice University in Houston, September 12, 1962:
<Space is there and we're going to climb it, and the moon and planets are there and new hopes for knowledge and peace are there. And, therefore, as we set sail we ask God's blessing on the most hazardous and dangerous and greatest adventure on which man has ever embarked.> 1921JG003
On October 28, 1998, Astronaut John Glenn flew aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery. At age 77, he was the oldest person to go into space - 36 years after he had been the first American to orbit the earth in 1962. John Glenn observed the heavens and the earth from his window and stated:
<To look out at this kind of creation and not believe in God is to me impossible. It just strengthens my faith. I wish there were words to describe what it's like.> 1921JG004
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American Quotations by William J. Federer, 2024, All Rights Reserved, Permission granted to use with acknowledgement.
1921JG001. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). John Herschel Glenn, Jr. Charles E. Rice, The Supreme Court and Public Prayer (New York: Fordham University Press, 1964), p. 62.
1921JG002. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). John Herschel Glenn, Jr. Comment by astronaut Scott Carpenter on February 20, 1962, at the launch of Friendship 7.
1921JG003. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). John Herschel Glenn, Jr. President Kennedy at Rice University in Houston, September 12, 1962.
1921JG004. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). John Herschel Glenn, Jr. October 28, 1998, aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery.