Right stuff: America needs more heroes like John Glenn

John Glenn was a true American hero. Glenn, who died last week at the age of 95, served his country as a fighter pilot, astronaut and United States senator, but it is his career as an astronaut that made his name a household word in America.

Glenn was the first American to orbit the Earth. In 1962 there was no bigger news than his feat. He was the last surviving member of the astronaut team that led the Mercury 7 program.

Glenn truly had the "right stuff" as the book and movie of the same named showed. His return to space at the age of 77 brought his flying career full circle. He remains the oldest person to enter space flight.

In today's world we find few real heroes. We tend to look up to sports figures, movie stars and the like and call them heroes. But the plain-spoken Glenn was the real thing, facing danger again and again, first as a fighter pilot and then in his career as an astronaut. He represented his home state of Ohio in the Senate for 24 years -- longer than anyone else in the state's history.

Glenn was no ordinary man, and he more than deserves the accolades he earned over his long career of service to his country. America is in desperate need of more such real heroes.

Published in Editorials on December 10, 2016 11:44 PM