Biden, mourners pay tribute to John Glenn, American hero
COLUMBUS, Ohio — The nation’s vice-president and a retired Marine Corps general were among the dignitaries, family members and other mourners who choked up Saturday during a memorial tribute to the late space hero John Glenn.
Roughly 2,500 people gathered at Mershon Auditorium on the Ohio State University campus for “a celebration of life” for the former fighter pilot, history-making astronaut and longtime Democratic U.S. senator from small-town Ohio. He was remembered not only for bravery, but for his thoughtful consideration for others, his integrity and his patriotic optimism.
“I think John defined what it meant to be an American, what we were about, just by how we acted,” said Vice-President Joe Biden, a former colleague of Glenn’s in the U.S. Senate. “It was always about the promise. We were a country of possibility, opportunity, always a belief in tomorrow.”
Retired USMC Gen. John Dailey said Glenn was “never in it for himself,” but always acted for the nation’s greater good. Like many others, he recalled Glenn’s humility and basic kindness.