Object Record
Images
Metadata
Catalog Number |
2016.019.001 |
Object Name |
Ribbon, Commemorative |
Collection |
John Glenn Jr. Repose Collection |
Title |
Glenn Repose ribbon |
Date |
December 16, 2016 |
Description |
Ribbon that was displayed on one of the wreaths that were placed in the rotunda during the John Glenn Jr. Repose on Friday, December 16, 2016. The ribbon reads: "STATE of OHIO". |
Dimensions |
W-2.5 L-50 inches |
Material |
Nylon |
Notes |
John Herschel Glenn, Jr. was born on July 18, 1921 in Cambridge, Ohio. When Glenn was two years old his family moved to New Concord, Ohio. One of the most important residents in this town was a girl named Anna Margaret "Annie" Castor. Her family was friends with the Glenns and so John Glenn, Jr. and Annie Castor grew up together from infancy. The couple starting dating seriously while in high school, were married on April 6, 1943, and became the parents of John David Glenn and Carolyn Ann Glenn in the late 1940s. After graduating from high school in 1939, John Glenn entered Muskingum College. During his sophomore year, he jumped at a chance to gain his pilot’s license through the Civilian Pilot Training Program. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Glenn was determined to use his newly acquired flying skills in the war effort. He completed his overseas tour of duty in February of 1945 with the rank of Captain, having flown 59 combat missions and sustaining damage to his Corsair by anti-aircraft fire on five occasions. For his meritorious service Glenn received two Distinguished Flying Crosses and ten Air Medals. In early 1953, Glenn flew 63 combat missions in North Korea. Baseball star Ted Williams, called up for active duty from the Marine Corps Reserve, often flew as Glenn’s wingman during missions. On April 8, 1959, Glenn joined Lt. M. Scott Carpenter, Lt. Commander Walter M. Schirra, Jr., and Lt. Commander Alan B. Shepard, Jr. of the U.S. Navy and Captain L. Gordon Cooper, Captain Virgil I. “Gus” Grissom, and Captain Donald K. “Deke” Slayton of the U.S. Air Force at a press conference introducing the newly appointed Project Mercury astronauts. In November of 1961, NASA announced that John Glenn would pilot the first American attempt at orbital space flight. NASA successfully launched its Mercury-Atlas Mission Number 6, with Glenn piloting the Friendship 7, at 9:47 AM into orbit. Over the course of the next four hours and 56 minutes, Glenn, flying between 100 and 160 miles above the Earth’s surface at a rate of more than 17,400 miles per hour, orbited Earth three times and splashed down without incident into the Atlantic Ocean near Grand Turk Island in the Bahamas. In 1974 John Glenn went on to win his first term in the United States Senate. Glenn subsequently won re-election to the Senate three times - his 24 years of public service are a record for a Senator from Ohio. As a Senator, Glenn quietly worked for legislation designed to improve the lives of Americans. He is perhaps best known as the author of numerous bills to restrict the proliferation of nuclear weapons around the world. From his work as a member of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, Senator Glenn began to see parallels between the human aging process and some of the negative symptoms experienced by astronauts exposed for a lengthy period of time to the weightlessness of a space environment. Glenn began meeting with NASA officials on this topic and it was agreed that NASA needed to send an older individual into space. After a thorough review on the merits of the scientific knowledge to be gained by sending an older person into space, NASA officials agreed to place Glenn on an upcoming space shuttle mission if he could pass the mandatory physical requirements demanded of all current astronauts. Glenn passed the required physical without difficulty. The Space Shuttle Discovery launched on October 29, 1998 for a nine-day mission. In addition to his duties as a payload specialist, John Glenn underwent a series of medical tests prior to, during, and after the space flight. NASA designed the tests to monitor for various medical conditions such as osteoporosis, muscle loss, and immune system suppression commonly suffered by astronauts due to the absence of gravity. After a successful mission totaling 134 orbits, Discovery touched down at Cape Canaveral on November 7, 1998. After careers as a Marine aviator, NASA astronaut, and U.S. Senator, Glenn came to deplore the negative image many young people hold towards a public service career. Determined to do what he could to reverse this negativity, he joined with The Ohio State University in October 1998, to create the John Glenn College of Public Affairs. Glenn held a position as an adjutant professor in both the Department of Political Science and the School of Public Policy and Management at The Ohio State University, and was Chairman of the Board of Directors for the John Glenn Institute. Through these positions Glenn continued to share his knowledge gained from more than 50 years of service to the public. John Glenn passed away on December 8, 2016 in Columbus,Ohio. Courtesy of the John Glenn Institute for Public Service and Public Policy at The Ohio State University |
Provenance |
Senator John Glenn Jr. lay in repose, under a United States Marine honor guard, in the Rotunda of the Ohio Statehouse from 12 to 8 p.m. on Friday, December 16, 2016. The Ohio Statehouse was open extended hours during the viewing, and visitors were accepted through 8 p.m. The staff of the Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board collected these items after the repose ended. The Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board took over the care of the Statehouse and its collections in 1988. |
People |
Glenn, John 1921-2016 |
Search Terms |
Repose Ribbon Rotunda |
Subjects |
Death & burial Funeral flowers Memorial flowers Memorial services |