ST. GEORGE — By order of Gov. Gary Herbert, flags will be flying at half-staff at all state buildings Monday in honor of John Glenn.
Herbert released the following statement:
Today Jeanette and I join a grateful nation in honoring John Glenn, an American hero in every sense. An astronaut, an engineer, a veteran and a statesman, John’s lifetime of service inspires us all to look inside ourselves and consider how we can better serve our fellowmen. We extend our deepest condolences to his beloved wife Annie and the entire Glenn family at this time.
Glenn died Thursday at the James Cancer Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, at the age of 95. He was the first astronaut to orbit the Earth in Mercury capsule Friendship 7 in 1962.
Glenn was also a fighter pilot serving in two wars and a test pilot who once set a transcontinental speed record in 1957 by flying from Los Alamitos, California, to New York in three hours, 23 minutes and 8 seconds, averaging just over 725 mph. The flight was known as Project Bullet because the flight traveled faster than a round from a .45-caliber pistol.
Glenn also served in politics as a senator from Ohio for 25 years. During that time he set another record as the oldest man to fly in space when he served as a member of the shuttle Discovery’s crew for nine days in 1998 at age 77. He was the only astronaut to have participated in both the Mercury program and the Space Shuttle program.
Flags will be flown at half staff until sunset on the day of Glenn’s funeral. According to a report from The Associated Press, the date and time of his funeral were still being worked out as of Friday.
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Seems like every time I look at the flagpole at the post office we are mourning someone. Have we turned into a nation of the easily upset and constantly agitated? RIP John Glenn. I think he would tell us to “kick the tires, light the fires, stop the moping and do something big”.
RIP J.G, you are and always will be an American Icon.
now I’m waiting for NASA to actually put a man on the moon instead of just saying they did !