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john herschel glenn jr began his flying

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career during world war ii flying 59

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combat missions in the south pacific he

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flew another 63 combat flights during

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the korean war and earned the

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distinguished flying cross six times he

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later became a test pilot for marine and

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naval aircraft and in 1957 set the speed

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record for flying from los angeles to

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new york in three hours and 23 minutes

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his experience made him an ideal

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candidate for a fledgling civilian space

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agency created in 1958 and in 1959 john

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glenn was selected as one of nasa's

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original seven mercury astronauts his

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orbital flight in february 1962 gave new

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wings to america's spirit

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until then the united states lagged

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behind the soviet union in human space

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flight flynn's flight put us back on

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track and america never looked back

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glenn was and still remains a national

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hero