III 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 640 

Recognizing the death of John Glenn, former Senator for the State of Ohio 

and the first individual from the United States to orbit the Earth. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 10 (legislative day, DECEMBER 9), 2016 

Mr. BROWN (for himself, Mr. PORTMAN, Mr. MCCONNELL, Mr. REID, Mr. 

ALEXANDER, Ms. AYOTTE, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. BARRASSO, Mr. BENNET, 

Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. BLUNT, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. BOOZMAN, Mrs. 

BOXER, Mr. BURR, Ms. CANTWELL, Mrs. CAPITO, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. CARPER, Mr. CASEY, Mr. CASSIDY, Mr. COATS, Mr. COCHRAN, Ms. COLLINS, 

Mr. COONS, Mr. CORKER, Mr. CORNYN, Mr. COTTON, Mr. CRAPO, Mr. 

CRUZ, Mr. DAINES, Mr. DONNELLY, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. ENZI, Mrs. 

ERNST, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mrs. FISCHER, Mr. FLAKE, Mr. FRANKEN, Mr. 

GARDNER, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mr. GRAHAM, Mr. GRASSLEY, Mr. HATCH, 

Mr. HEINRICH, Ms. HEITKAMP, Mr. HELLER, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. 

HOEVEN, Mr. INHOFE, Mr. ISAKSON, Mr. JOHNSON, Mr. KAINE, Mr. 

KING, Mr. KIRK, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. LANKFORD, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. 

LEE, Mr. MANCHIN, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. MCCAIN, Mrs. MCCASKILL, Mr. 

MENENDEZ, Mr. MERKLEY, Ms. MIKULSKI, Mr. MORAN, Ms. MURKOWSKI, Mr. MURPHY, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. NELSON, Mr. PAUL, Mr. 

PERDUE, Mr. PETERS, Mr. REED, Mr. RISCH, Mr. ROBERTS, Mr. 

ROUNDS, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. SASSE, Mr. SCHATZ, Mr. SCHUMER, Mr. SCOTT, Mr. SESSIONS, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Mr. SHELBY, Ms. STABENOW, Mr. SULLIVAN, Mr. TESTER, Mr. THUNE, Mr. TILLIS, Mr. 

TOOMEY, Mr. UDALL, Mr. VITTER, Mr. WARNER, Ms. WARREN, Mr. 

WHITEHOUSE, Mr. WICKER, and Mr. WYDEN) submitted the following 

resolution; which was considered and agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Recognizing the death of John Glenn, former Senator for 

the State of Ohio and the first individual from the 

United States to orbit the Earth. 


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•SRES 640 ATS 

Whereas John Glenn was born in Cambridge, Ohio, in 1921 

to John Herschel Glenn, Sr. and Clara Sproat Glenn; 

Whereas, at 2 years of age, John Glenn moved to New Concord, Ohio, the town where he met his childhood sweetheart and future wife; 

Whereas, in March 1942, shortly after the Japanese attack 

on Pearl Harbor, John Glenn, who was a student at 

Muskingum College in New Concord, Ohio, at the time 

of the attack, entered the Naval Aviation Cadet program; 

Whereas John Glenn served in the Marine Corps from 1942 

to 1965, during which time John Glenn— 

(1) flew 59 combat missions in World War II and 

63 combat missions in Korea; and 

(2) for his service, earned 6 separate Distinguished 

Flying Cross awards and the Air Medal with 18 clusters; 

Whereas, in 1959, John Glenn was selected by the National 

Aeronautics and Space Administration to serve as 1 of 

the original 7 astronauts of the space program of the 

United States; 

Whereas, on February 20, 1962, John Glenn guided Mercury 

spacecraft Friendship 7 into space and circled the globe 

3 times, traveling a distance of 3,600,000 miles and becoming the first individual from the United States to 

orbit the Earth; 

Whereas, in 1974, John Glenn arrived in the Senate, where 

he represented his home State of Ohio for 25 years before retiring in 1999; 

Whereas, during his time in the Senate, John Glenn served 

on the Committee on Governmental Affairs, the Committee on Foreign Relations, the Committee on Armed 


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•SRES 640 ATS 

Services, the Select Committee on Intelligence, and the 

Special Committee on Aging; 

Whereas, as Chairman of the Committee on Governmental 

Affairs, John Glenn worked on a bipartisan basis to 

eliminate waste and make the Federal Government more 

efficient; 

Whereas, in 1998, as a 77-year old sitting Senator, John 

Glenn boarded the space shuttle Discovery for 9 days, 

again setting history as the oldest individual to fly in 

space; 

Whereas, in 2008, Ohio State University founded the John 

Glenn School of Public Affairs, which, in 2015, became 

the John Glenn College of Public Affairs, with the mission to ‘‘inspire citizenship and develop leadership’’ in the 

public sector; 

Whereas John Glenn was awarded the Congressional Gold 

Medal on November 16, 2011; 

Whereas John Glenn was awarded the Presidential Medal of 

Freedom on May 29, 2012; 

Whereas 1 author described John Glenn as ‘‘the last true national hero America has ever had’’; 

Whereas John Glenn is survived by his wife of 73 years, his 

2 children, and his 2 grandsons; and 

Whereas the United States is deeply indebted to John Glenn 

for his passion for exploration, commitment to public 

service, and desire to make the world a better place: 

Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That— 

2 (1) the Senate— 


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•SRES 640 ATS 

1 (A) extends its deepest condolences and 

2 gratitude to the family of John Glenn; and 

3 (B) honors the legacy and life of John 

4 Glenn, his commitment to the United States, 

5 and his service to the Senate and the United 

6 States; and 

7 (2) when the Senate adjourns today, it stands 

8 adjourned as a further mark of respect to the mem9 ory of the late John Glenn. 

Æ 


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