On this day in history, February 20, 1962, John Glenn becomes the first American to orbit the Earth

John Glenn, Marine Corps fighter pilot, pioneer of human exploration, and later longtime U.S. Senator, became the first American to orbit the Earth on this day in history, February 20, 1962.

“Glenn’s journey through space, a great technical achievement, was of even greater significance to the country,” says the website of the John & Annie Glenn Museum in the astronaut’s hometown of New Concord, Ohio.

“Americans saw the event as a political and scientific milestone. Across the country they welcomed Glenn as a hero who had conquered the boundaries of the Earth and given new wings to the American spirit.”

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Glenn made three trips around the planet on his historic flight as the United States feverishly tried to keep pace with the Soviet Union in the space race.

“The Soviets took a leap forward by placing the first human, Yuri A. Gagarin, in space on April 12, 1961, on a flight into an orbit around the Earth aboard his spacecraft Vostok”, reports the Nasa.

The dramatic period of space exploration came amid the Cold War existential crisis that pitted the United States and Western constitutional democracies against the Soviet Union and Communist tyranny.

Which side wins the space race could also determine the fate of humanity.

“Across the country, (Americans) greeted Glenn as a hero who had conquered the ends of the earth.” — Glenn Museum

American astronaut Alan Shepard was the first American in space with a suborbital flight on May 5, 1961, three weeks after Gagarin’s first such trip.

President John F. Kennedy then committed the nation to putting a man on the moon before the end of the decade, in a speech before a joint session of Congress on May 25.

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“If we are to win the battle now unfolding worldwide between freedom and tyranny…I believe this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before the end of this decade, of landing a man on the moon and bring him safely back to Earth,” the president said in his dramatic challenge.

The John and Annie Glenn Museum is located in the childhood home of war veteran, space explorer and longtime U.S. Senator John Glenn in New Concord, Ohio. (Kerry J. Byrne/Fox News Digital)

Kennedy gave his most famous “we choose to go to the moon” speech the following year, on September 12, 1962.

Glenn played a vital role in America’s successful quest to put men on the moon – a landmark achievement in human history yet unmatched by any other nation.

He enlisted in the National Aviation Cadet Program at age 20 shortly after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and became a Marine Corps pilot.

Glenn flew hunting missions in Korea with another hero of two wars, Hall of Fame baseball star Ted Williams, as a wingman.

He flew dozens of combat missions during World War II and the Korean War and later became one of the world’s most accomplished test pilots.

His aircraft was hit by enemy fire on five different missions, according to multiple accounts of his service in World War II.

John Glenn in the cockpit of the F8U-1P Crusader aircraft. The Marine Corps officer served in both World War II and Korea and later became one of America’s top test pilots. (US Navy Photograph)

He returned damaged planes safely every time.

“For his total of 149 missions during the two wars, he received numerous decorations, including the Distinguished Flying Cross six times”, specifies the John and Annie Glenn Museum.

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Glenn flew hunting missions in Korea with another hero of two wars, Hall of Fame baseball star Ted Williams, as a wingman.

“Absolutely fearless,” said the Splendid Splinter, whose legendary sharp eyesight and reflexes made him a formidable force at the plate and in the cockpit, of Glenn.

“The best I’ve ever seen. It was an honor to fly with him.”

Glenn’s reputation as the best test pilot earned him a place among the “Mercury 7” – the first seven astronauts hired to lead America’s manned space exploration effort.

“Project Mercury was the first United States program to send people into space. Beginning in 1958 and completing in 1963, the program completed six crewed flights and marked the beginning of human spaceflight in the United States. United,” says the National Air and Space Museum. .

Humanity has not returned to the lunar surface since the last Americans left more than half a century ago.

It was followed by the Gemini and Apollo programs.

Gemini sent 10 crew into space and included the first spacewalk. Apollo then flew six missions to the Moon between 1969 and 1972. Humanity has not returned to the lunar surface since the last Americans left more than half a century ago.

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Glenn left the space program in 1964 and retired as a Colonel from the Marine Corps in 1965.

He quickly embarked on a political career – and represented Ohio in the US Senate from 1974 to 1999.

Glenn flew a space shuttle mission in 1998 at the age of 77, becoming the oldest human in space. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, in 2012.

In this February 20, 2012, file photo, Senator John Glenn talks with astronauts on the International Space Station satellite before a discussion titled “Learning from the Past to Innovate for the Future” in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete, File)

John Herschel Glenn Jr. died on December 8, 2016 at the age of 95.

He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery after a lifetime of wartime service to the United States, walking the halls of the Capitol and leading his countrymen beyond the limits of the Earth.

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“Surrounded by older students, encouraged by a father who loved to travel, and mentored by a devoted mother, John developed an early interest in science, a fascination with aviation and a sense of patriotism that would define his life as a young man. ‘adult,’ says the John & Annie Glenn Museum.