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 con-
flict; 
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 Asiatic-
Pacific Campaign Medal, the American Campaign Medal, 
the World War II Victory Medal, the China Service
•HRES 252 EH 
Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, and the Ko-
rean 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 av-
erage supersonic speeds from Los Angeles to New York; 
Whereas John Glenn was a pioneer in the realm of space ex-
ploration and was selected in 1959 as one of the original 
7 astronauts in the United States space program, enter-
ing 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 Mer-
cury-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
•HRES 252 EH 
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 Uni-
versity, which was established to foster public involve-
ment in the policy-making process, raise public awareness 
about key policy issues, and encourage continuous im-
provement 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 Dis-
covery, 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
•HRES 252 EH 
(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.