no matter how perilous the situation. he might have been referring to an occasion where williams was hit by anti-aircraft fire, and his plane was ablaze. john pulled alongside, pointed up, and climbed to higher altitude, and with the lack of oxygen, the flames were extinguished. williams made it back to base. of all the war stories, this one perhaps best illustrates what john meant to us. he invited us up to his level where he discovered what an american could do. he once said he had been a marine for 23 years, and it just wasn t enough. we had john for 95 great years, and it still wasn t enough. a long, full life is a gift, and john made his a gift to us all. today we say thank you. for the service and sacrifice,
your presence and hope renewed by your promises. we gather this day in this place to grieve senator john glenn s death and to celebrate a life well lived and to rejoice in his new life that will never end. bless also those he loved who are gathered here today. pour out your blessings on this assembly and allow your grace to be our guide. sustain us, oh lord, with your comfort and presence today and always. we pray this in your name all gracious god, amen. the following is a passage that is read on yom kippur, the holiest day of the jewish year and lends perspective to the inevitable cycle of life. if some messenger were to come
john glenn s second trip to space took off as planned in october of 1998. liftoff of discovery with the crew of six astronaut heroes and one american legend. when the mission was over, america s oldest space traveler was given his second ticker-tape parade on broadway in new york city. i would say he s one of the few legitimate american heroes of our time. i think people think at my age i m supposed to be a couch potato. you need to get out and fulfill your dreams and ambitions at any arj. reporter: following his return to space, he and wife annie founded the john glenn institute for public service at ohio state university. they also served as trustees of their alma mater, muss keying gum college. john scott, fox news. and that s just a sampling of some of the things he
senator glenn, i m here for this flight coming up. but to you guys i m john, just another test pilot, another astronaut with you and i m glad to be back, glad to be part of your group. he came down to our level. you could run down on the elevator and ask him how the training was going. i think one of the things i remember is his humility, a senator and national icon of the space age, a very approachable guy, and so was his wife. they were role models for all of us. the other piece of his life that obviously was very important to him was as his role as a senator. he wasn t really that comfortable with the actual campaigning or politics in general. he was wanting to do service, he ran for president and didn t win. what we keep hearing over and over again was that he wasn t someone that really wanted to
the word astronaut wasn t even known when i was growing up. that came along later. i loved it. would like to go up every day. this week, our nation has been mourning the loss of one of its greatest heroes, john glenn. has passing has affected my deeply, but in the spirit of