I was a second-grader when Sen. John Glenn became the oldest man to fly in space and the only one to fly in both the Mercury and the Space Shuttle Program. As my fellow classmates and I watched the Space Shuttle Discovery lift off with Glenn inside, my heart pounded and I thought to myself what a brave man he was.
From that point on, I read everything I could on Glenn and dreamed of meeting him one day. I finally would have opportunity to meet with Glenn in his hometown of Columbus, Ohio on numerous occasions between 2014-2016, as I began to write extensively on his life and legacy in what would become the basis for my graduate thesis.
Fighting MiG pilots during the Korean War, orbiting the Earth aboard Friendship 7, and lifting off into space aboard Discovery is the stuff of legend. But the John Glenn that I got to know was one of “Nestor.”
Nestor is a character from the Iliad, and as a youth was a great warrior. As Nestor grew with age, so did his knowledge and wisdom. The same is true with Glenn, who was extremely wise and generous with his advice and time, especially with young people and students like myself. Glenn would once state, “If I can inspire young people to dedicate themselves to the good of mankind, I’ve accomplished something.”
I feel it is now the duty of our nation’s young people to pay tribute to Glenn, as he dedicated his life to public service, and paved the path for the next generation of astronauts, servicemen, servicewomen, and public servants.
What mattered most to Glenn was his wife Annie, faith in God, love of country, and service to one’s state and nation. For Glenn, it was the United States and his beloved state of Ohio, which he served for nearly 30 years in the U.S. Senate. Glenn’s small-town Ohio roots was a part of who he was as a person. Then-Vice President Joe Biden would state at Glenn’s funeral service, “John Glenn came from the heart of the country and stole the heart of America.”
The nation pauses and remembers Glenn Thursday, as he was finally laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery.
Adam Sackowitz is pursuing his master’s degree in history at St. John’s University, where he’s writing his graduate thesis on the life and legacy of Astronaut and Senator John Glenn, D-Ohio.
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