H. Res. 252

In the House of Representatives, U. S., 

May 1, 2007.

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 AsiaticPacific Campaign Medal, the American Campaign Medal, 

the World War II Victory Medal, the China Service 
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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; 

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 
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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 House of Representatives—

(1) honors the 45th anniversary of John Herschel 

Glenn, Jr.’s landmark mission piloting the first manned 

orbital mission of the United States; and 
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(2) recognizes the profound importance of John 

Glenn’s achievement as a catalyst to space exploration 

and scientific advancement in the United States. 

Attest:

Clerk.