Excerpts from John Glenn: A Memoir

Published in 1999

John Herschel Glenn Jr. (1921–) has accomplished more in one lifetime than many people could achieve in three. First a combat pilot in World War II (1939–45) and the Korean War (1950–53), Glenn was named one of the Mercury 7, the original group of men chosen to be American astronauts, in 1959. On February 20, 1962, Glenn became a national hero when he successfully orbited Earth three times in the space capsule Friendship 7 before returning safely. Thirty-six years later—after successful careers as a businessman and a U.S. senator—Glenn returned to space aboard the shuttle Discovery, at the age of seventy-seven, becoming the oldest astronaut to fly a mission.

After completing training as a fighter-bomber pilot, Glenn married his high school sweetheart, Annie...