This is a children's book of the life and career of John Herschel Glenn, Jr., the first American to orbit earth under NASA's Mercury Project in his Friendship 7 capsule. He was also a U.S. Senator, a candidate for President of the United States, and flew on the Space Shuttle Discovery for NASA's STS-95 Mission as the oldest person to fly in space at the age of 77. He had a remarkable career not only as an astronaut and politician, but also in the military with the Navy and the U.S. Marine Corps, flying combat missions in both World War II and the Korean conflict, before becoming a test pilot.
Glenn and his wife, Annie, knew each other as toddlers and grew up together in New Concord, Ohio, becoming high school sweethearts and raising a family with two children, David and Lyn. Annie herself was famous as a trail-blazer in the support of disabled people.
John H. Glenn, Jr. (1921-2016) was a hero who will be remembered always for not only his contributions as a person, but for his staunch support of family and family values. This book contains numerous photos of his life.
Author Biography:
Annie Laura Smith is the author of numerous stories, articles, curriculum materials, and book reviews. Her middle-grade historical novel, The Legacy of Bletchley Park, was the first of her historical novels about World War II. Will Paris Burn?, Saving da Vinci, and Alexandra's Secret completed this historical series. Twilight of Honor moves forward in history and genre, providing a touching romance perspective to the war in Vietnam and its aftermath. She is the author or compiler for several juvenile books such as The Mercury Project, Sally Ride, Werhner von Braun, Neil Armstrong, John Glenn, and Alan Shepard. Dale "Steve" Gierhart is a retired business manager for the United States Army. Based in Huntsville, Alabama on Redstone Arsenal, his career lasted from 1975 to 2010 in which he managed contracts, finances/accounting, and cost estimating for several missile defense systems, among which were Stinger, Avenger, Chaparral, Sentinel, JLENS, SLAMRAAM, and Non-Line of Sight. He hails from Shawnee, Oklahoma; but most of his adult life has been spent in the beautiful hills of North Alabama where he lives with his wife, Bonny, who raises Tennessee Walking Horses. Between them, Steve and Bonny have 5 children and 9 grandchildren. Steve enjoys writing, including two novels, Shadow of the Conjurer and A Palace of Strangers (collaboration with James Frost), as well as numerous articles in Old Huntsville Magazine, and the Valley Planet. He and Bonny, a retired engineer who worked as a contractor on several NASA and Army programs, will travel in their retirement though 10 horses, 4 dogs and 2 cats can crimp the best of plans.
