John Glenn was born in Cambridge, Ohio, on July 18, 1921. He graduated from Ohio State University with a degree in engineering, and was commissioned an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve. He completed pilot training at Marine Corps Aviation School, Cherry Point, North Carolina, and was awarded his pilot wings at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida
Read more
As a Marine Corps fighter pilot during World War II, he flew more than 300 combat missions in five separate campaigns over Germany as a member of the elite Navy Fighter Squadron VMF-441. Following the war, he flew F2H Banshee fighters with the U.S. Marine All-Weather Fighter Squadron 311 (the "Blue Hawks").
During this time he set 10 world records for mission miles flown by fighter pilots. In 1953 John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth as part of Project Mercury. He served as chairman of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) astronaut selection board from 1965 to 1968 and was awarded NASA's highest honor, the Distinguished Service Medal, in 1967 for his role in selecting America's first astronauts.
Since retiring from NASA in Project Mercury , he has been active in promoting space exploration both nationally and internationally through his career as an advocate for science education and Star Wars missile defense systems.