Alice L George - The Last American Hero: The Remarkable Life of John Glenn

On February 20, 1962, John Glenn became a national star. That morning at Cape Canaveral, the small-town boy from Ohio took his place atop a rocket and soared into space.

He became celebrated in all corners of the world as not just the first American to orbit the Earth, but as the first space traveler to take the human race with him. Refusing to let that dramatic day define his life, he went on to become a four-term US senatorand returned to space at the age of seventy-seven. The Last American Hero is a stunning examination of the layers that formed the man: a hero of the Cold War, a two-time astronaut, a veteran senator, a devoted husband and father, and much more. At a time when an increasingly cynical world needs heroes, John Glenns aura burns brightly in American memory.

Copyright 2021 by Alice L. George

All rights reserved

First edition

Published by Chicago Review Press Incorporated

814 North Franklin Street

Chicago, Illinois 60610

ISBN 978-1-64160-213-6

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020942075

Print book interior design: Jonathan Hahn

Printed in the United States of America

5 4 3 2 1

To the men and women who risk their lives in opening the way to exploration of the final frontier.

SMALL-TOWN BOY

OFF TO WAR

OL MAGNET TAIL

RACING TOWARD SPACE

AROUND THE WORLD IN 89 MINUTES

MEANWHILE ON EARTH

SUPERSTAR

WHATS NEXT?

GLENNS FRIEND, ROBERT KENNEDY

INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL LIFE

THE EBB AND FLOW OF POLITICAL LIFE

WINNING HIS WINGS AGAIN

Without heroes, we are all plain people, and dont know how far we can go.

Bernard Malamud

H ero.

John Glenn absorbed the title like a plant consuming a drop of water. It became a part of him. It nourished him, stimulated him, invigorated him. It changed his life without displacing his essence. John Glenn, the hero would thrive, but John Glenn, the small-town boy would always rule his heart. In an age almost devoid of heroes, he became an anomaly, the last of his kind in an antiheroic agea man with both physical courage and moral conviction. In old age, he witnessed the decline of honesty, courage, and empathy in American discourse. He saw the abandonment of heroes, who were replaced by visions of villains on all sides in a polarized America. However, he never relinquished the exalted status bestowed upon him by the American people, who had followed his life and found something great within it. His heroic stature was rare at the start of the twenty-first century, but others of his breed hold places in the nations history.

This biography does not strive to place Glenn on a pedestal; instead, it sets out to show how a human being, flawed like all of us, was able to navigate a remarkable life. Fueled by hard work, bravery, love, and devotion, he assembled a long list of accomplishments. He had no superpowers and wore no halo, and still, his lifetime of achievements turned him into a venerated figurea role he never sought. Throughout his life, he repeatedly greeted challenges by stepping forward and willingly offering his life in service to his country. Embracing his humanity, he aimed to lead a good life. At that he succeeded, providing an inspirational model for other Americans to follow in trying times.

His life was not only exemplary but also truly phenomenal. He married the only girl he had ever dated, and his love never wavered during more than seventy years together. He fought in two wars. During the first, he met his childhood hero, Charles Lindbergh; during the second, he flew alongside one of the nations greatest sports stars, Ted Williams, and downed three Soviet MiGs in the wars final nine days. In the late 1950s, he set an aviation speed record and won the top prize on a TV game show. Then he soared into space as the first American to orbit Earth. He became a close friend to presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy and played a key role in the aftermath of his assassination. Always pursuing new challenges, Glenn served as a US senator for more than two decades before becoming the oldest person to travel in space.

In a life full of big days, February 20, 1962, the day of Glenns first orbital flight during Project Mercury, affected his public life most profoundly. Without surrendering to fear, he flew into a maelstrom of unknowns. Afterward, all fifty states from Maine to Hawaii celebrated, with ticker tape raining in New York City and teary-eyed lawmakers saluting him on Capitol Hill. The Soviet Union had beaten the United States to every major space spectacularfirst satellite (Sputnik in 1957), first manned flight (Yuri Gagarin in April 1961), first manned orbit (also Gagarin)but Glenns flight, which, unlike secret Soviet flights, had garnered a full day of television coverage, had elevated American spirits, while making each citizen part of a heart-pounding space opera. He became the American space hero.

From the first days after his flight, Glenn relaxed in the warmth of the spotlight. Confident without being cocky, he seemed comfortable with fame, and at the same time, both humble and generous. His short addresses as a hero were far more powerful than the often-wooden, overly detailed speeches he delivered later in life as a senator and a presidential candidate. Glenn never showed any sense of being oppressed by crowds of fans, and for more than half of his life, he unfailingly showed great willingness to stop and sign autographs. His apparently easy transition into life as a celebrity surprised many observers, but its naturalness added to Americans respect for him.

In The Right Stuff, Tom Wolfe wrote that President John F. Kennedys fans screamed and grasped souvenirs, while the masses anointed Glenn and the Mercury astronauts with their tears.

Over the course of a long life, Glenn gave to his country again and again. Through twenty-three years in the military and twenty-four years in the US Senate, he literally devoted most of his adult life to his country and was still on the job at age seventy-seven. More than a daredevil pilot, this man was brave enough to ride a rockettwiceand self-assured enough to listen to and truly hear Americans who were not white men like himself. He shunned pretense. He was comfortable in his own skin, and he had a special grace that enabled him to treat everyone, no matter what their status, as an equal. He was an adventurer, a father, a Christian true believer, and a Cold Warrior who pursued a breathtaking quest of exploration. And even years later, when his marine buzz cut had been replaced by a bald head with gray fringe, Americans still looked at him and saw a hero.

When President Kennedy decided to make his second and consummate argument for sending astronauts to the moon within the .

The symbolism defining the space program was not limited to frontier comparisons. They were our gladiators in the contest with the Soviets, said Neufeld. This symbolism gained power from the steeds on which the astronauts and cosmonauts roderockets designed as intercontinental ballistic missilesweapons of nuclear war repurposed to serve as vehicles of exploration. Rather than being destructive, the rockets now became productive, opening the road to discovery.

From the start, the poised and emotionally open Glenn received more attention than his terse teammates. After he became the first American to orbit Earth, columnist George Dixon wrote, An achievement like this requires a hero,

Thousands of Americans, including many children, wrote to Glenn, describing the day of his flight as a highlight of their lives and comparing him to make-believe heroes like Superman. Just the sight of him made them cry, Wolfe recalled years later, and this made him a hero. Some fans wrote songs about him; others composed poems. Like Achilles and Odysseus, he starred in a thrilling saga that touched the hearts of many in his native land and beyond. Millions had found a contemporary hero.