Emotional Biden helps say goodbye to Glenn

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.”

Glenn died Dec. 8 at age 95. He was the first American to orbit the Earth in 1962, and then in 1998 became the oldest person in space at 77.

Thousands of people, including Secretary of State John Kerry, visited the Ohio Statehouse on Friday as Glenn lay in honor. A solemn funeral procession through the center of the capital city carried his casket past more mourners willing to withstand cold and ice.

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, a fellow Democrat who first met Glenn when he was a teenage Eagle Scout, called Glenn “an FDR Democrat” who believed in the power of government and the importance of public service — through his military and space career and his tenure in the Senate.

Brown’s wife, journalist Connie Schultz, recalled his tenderness when their grandson was curious about how astronauts urinate in space. She saw it as an example for the nation.

“If American icon John Glenn could take the time to treat a child with such respect, surely we can find the time to listen to one another,” she said.

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden Jr. said the U.S. space program remains indebted to Glenn.

“It was courage, grace and humility John displayed throughout his life that lifted him above the stars,” Bolden said. “As the current head of NASA, I can say unequivocally that we are standing on John Glenn’s shoulders as we pursue a human journey to Mars, a journey that would not be possible without his bravery and selfless dedication.”

Taps was played as Glenn was carried from the auditorium. He’ll be buried at Arlington Cemetery near Washington, D.C., in a private ceremony this spring.

JOHN MINCHILLO/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Vice President Joe Biden wipes a tear from his eye as he speaks Saturday at the funeral of John Glenn at The Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio. Glenn, a former fighter pilot who became the first American to orbit the Earth, died Dec. 8 at age 95.