According to Ohio State University officials, Glenn's death was announced Thursday. Glenn was being treated at James Cancer Hospital. According to NBC News, he has experienced a number of health problems in the past few years including a stroke he suffered a couple of years ago after his heart valve replacement surgery.
NASA said in a statement that they are saddened by the loss of Sen. Glenn - the first American to orbit Earth and a true American hero. According to author Tom Wolfe, Glenn was once a small-town American who became the last true hero America has ever made. But that is not the only title he earned during his career.
Glenn was also a marine fighter pilot that officers look up. While flying 149 combat missions during the Korean War and the World War II, he was dubbed as the "Old Magnet Ass" because he was able to draw enemy fire while keeping his plane flying with big holes blown into its exterior. For six times, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.
Most people remember Glenn for having taken to space in year 1962. Dubbed as Friendship 7, the space capsule of Glenn circled the Earth and put the US on equal footing in the space race with the Soviet Union. Glenn joined America's first class of astronauts, Mercury 7, after setting record for transcontinental speed. According to him, he aimed to be the very first man in space, but he was put in a lower position as Alan Shepard's backup.
In year 1974, Glenn was elected to the senate where he served for 24 years. He also ran for presidency in 1984 but didn't win, Telegraph reported. Along the way, Glenn met some of the most honored Americans in the 20th century, flying alongside the baseball legend Ted Williams, in the World War II and being greeted in 1962 by then-president John F. Kennedy days after his arrival back on earth. Former President Kennedy dubbed him as the type of person whom Americans should be proud of. Mr. Obama, who awarded Glenn America's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, also mourns for his loss.
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