>> god it's great to see this

crowd. this is a -- more good evening ladies and gentlemen, janet -- director of the space museum, it is my pleasure to welcome you to a very special john h. clan lecture in space history. we established at this lecture series and 2004 to spotlight legendary figures in aviation and over the last 13 years, we've welcomed some truly extraordinary individuals. but none of them have loomed larger than our programs namesake, john dailey. for many years, senator glen hosted these events, the last few years when he and annie were unable to come in person,

they were with us and spirit. senator glen classed away in december after a lifetime of service to his country. he was a marine aviator and a combat veteran of two wars. the first american to orbit the earth, the united states senator and a great friend. it's now up to us to carry on in his honor, and celebrate his legacy of friendship. that's why we are here tonight. today would have been senator clans a 96th birthday. we had him for nearly a century, and that still was not enough. throughout our history, few americans have served perfectly embodied the ideals of their era. and senator cleanse example will continue to inspire for generations to come. this evening's program is in previous years would not be possible without the generous sponsorship of boeing. here to represent the wing is

lieutenant general chuck johnson -- vice president of air force mobility system. johnson would you stand and be recognized here? [applause] showing our appreciation. thank you to boeing for their many years of support to this electricity worries and for so many other important programs, we want to be the museum we are today without your help. we're joined tonight by some of senator cleanse friends and colleagues. who we will reflect on their time with him. if i were to do a proper job of introducing our panelists, i would take the rest of the day off. so i have taken the liberty of consolidating their incredible careers into a few social -- short sentences. doctor kathy sullivan is a distinguished scientists, an astronaut and oceanographer. she was the first american woman to walk in space. and along with bruce mccann

dulles, who is the recipient of the very first national space museum trophy in 1985. but her three spaceflight, including the mission to law and the telescope were just beginning of a career of adventure, exploration and education. doctor sullivan was the inaugural director of the center in the john gland center of public affairs at the ohio state university. she served as secretary of congress, and the administrator from chief scientists of the national oceanic and atmospheric in geneva. in 2014, she was named by time magazine as woman of the 100 most influential people. she -- beginning in 1961, the honorable david prior served the people of arkansas in the state house of representatives. the u.s. house, the governor's

mansion and the united states senate. after three full terms in the senate, he was named a full distinguished fellow in law and public affairs. senator prior went on to serve as director of the institute of politics at the harvard kennedy school of government, before becoming the inaugural director of the university of arkansas the clinton school of public service. bob schieffer's storied career in journalism began in the united states air force by way of texas christian university. following stints with the fort worth star telegram and a dallas tv station, mr. schieffer joined cbs news where he would remain for 46 years. he became the networks chief washington correspondent in 1982, and has covered every major beat from the white house to the hill and from the pentagon to the state department. in 1991, he began a 24 year

tenure as host to face the nation. mr. schieffer is a recipient of eight emmys, the walter khan cried award and in 2013, was named the living legend of the library of congress. i didn't get any better than that. it's now my pleasure to turn the program over to our moderator for the evening, mr. chief or. [applause] >> well this is a great pleasure to be here and truly in honor. you know, i don't think there is a downside to getting your name in the same center as john

glenn, and then when you put kathy sullivan and david prior into it, it makes you feel pretty good. i want to start off by just saying a little something here. and that is, when we live in the age of instinct celebrity. where it is possible to become famous for simply being famous. it's easy in times like that to blur the line between heroes and celebrities. we are here attended a night to talk about heroes. the one we are talking about also became a celebrity but most of all, he was a true american hero. some heroes become famous for doing great things, some do great things and if you even

know about it. sacrifices to make a good life for a childless special needs. the teacher who becomes a role model for young people who go on to do great things and even more importantly, have great lives. what is important to remember and that's why i'm so happy to be here tonight is america came to be wet it is because of heroes, great heroes. some we knew all about, some few knew what they had done. that they remained heroes. the man we talk about tonight was both a celebrity and a hero. we know a lot about him, we hope you will know more about him from these two people who knew john glen so very well in different periods of his life. he was also a friend of mine, i

covered him when he was in the united states senate and some of his campaigns, got to know him and any and we really did become real friends. but the people who are here knew him as well as anybody and i want to start tonight by asking both of them, david pryor and kathy sullivan. senator pryor, i guess he probably knew him first. i want to ask both of you, when did he become part of your lives? when did you first get to know him, david? >> well thank you, it's a pleasure to be here today with kathy and bob and all of you tonight to come and celebrate the life of john glenn. i first met john glenn in 1978. i was a member of the new class in 1970, bill bradley and a whole bunch of us came in in

78. i was on the train on the way over to the u.s. capital for some signing had's and the only person on the train that night -- pushcart as we call it was a john glenn. i sat by him, we talked all the way and if you ask me if one person asked me, -- i can tell you. i didn't know what this was about. nor did i know one a long-standing friendship i would be bonding at that particular moment.

being, the guy i had watched on tv, you know, there's no armstrong, they're joined than, and down here somewhere, there's me. and he's coming out. and to see i didn't know what to say about me and he got on that stage and his opening line was, so can i just tell you how jealous i am off this woman? and just went on in his affable humorous way. he she had she said she has had north bay's tire flight experience in her first with that i had to buy or carry. there's john leni building mile to his hometown objects and indoors to be as somebody they

should embrace that they should trust and welcoming to their community. he and annie got in the plane and flew from d.c. for that event and black back that day just to do that. and i was floored that the john gland i had watched since i was ten years old would go to that effort for me. >> let me ask both of you the question that i'm often asked about famous people that i may have known, and the most famous person i guess i ever knew was walter cobb right. and the question people always asked me was what was walter really like? was he in person like he was on television at the answer was he was exactly like he was on television but. i'd like to ask both of you, what it was john glen like, kathryn? >> you, know the man i read about in life magazine and watched on television as a youngster was a feat and cello

caricature of them and that really was he. was richer and better than anything that came through in the magazines. he was that confident and he was that passionate and he was that day to get, he was that patriotic. but all of that came in a fabulous package of just really caring humanity that was just extended so generously, too i think, everyone who came into contact with. >> david. yeah, i think that john flynn was in person on a daily basis every day, every hour, was the same person that came across on television. there was no pretense, there was no attempt to sell something or a part of me that did not exist. there was no attempt to sell that part of john cullen. and he was -- i would have to describe him as authentic.

he was an authentic individual. he was authentic from the time when he grew up in rural idaho i owe a, small little town. his father used to take enough money out to the airport to let them get into a plane. >> [inaudible] lessons. >> lessons, and flying on an airplane. and john playing going at that time fell in love with flying. flying was his first love. and i think when he fell in love with flying, all the other things just kind of assimilated together, and as a result of that? that love your he had with flight, i think he pretty well decided at that moment that that was going to be in some park or another part of his life. and he was very much to that

idea. >> you know, i think to really understand the impact that that will get, when john glen went into orbit, i think -- that i know there are a lot of people here i, expect most people here are younger than i am -- but it's impossible, almost, to describe the national psyche at that point. it was as if america had lost its groove. in 1957, i was in high school, was when sputnik when iran. this was the unmanned russian thing. and then in the year before, john glen went up, to russians had orbited the earth. it was as if people were asking -- they were, number one, the whole world was getting close, people were worried about a nuclear confrontation. and all of a sudden, the soviet union could put a man up into space and it was -- it was

almost terrifying. and people were really, really worried about it. and then they had the lodge, john glen went up, he made, what? three orbits, i guess it was, kathy. and you could see almost see it you, could see a change. i remember watching it on the black and white television, you know? and we were so relieved that he got up there. but it was more than we were just relieved about his safety, it was almost like, we're back. where were you all when that happened? and what do you remember about that day? >> i had gone back to law school later in life a little bit, and i had my family and little rock, arkansas, and we had moved to little rock. i had one son at the time -- i have three now. and we watched it, i guess, from the time, early in the

morning, until late at night. after flow was there. but there's another interesting thing, bob, about that flight. 350,000 people wrote a letter to john glen -- 350,000 human beings sat down and wrote a letter to john, bill, thanking him for his leadership, for his vision, in this particular field. and it was -- it was -- it shattered every public human aspect of everything was shattered at that time, i think. and it was a good, good program for all those who've [inaudible] and joint plan, i would later, had a ticker tape section in new york, i guess it was, kathryn. but it was a fabulous period of. >> it was a great day for

america. >> it's interesting that i recall about that, or probably adding that in. >> yes, but [inaudible] grateful. >> i was in grade school. i would have been ten or 11. i am one of the people whose assuredly younger than you are, bob. and, you know, we were all glued to the tv set. i can't remember now if it was at home or at school. it wouldn't have mattered. talk to any one of our vintage ingrates goal or junior high, the world stopped, classes stopped, televisions were rolled in, or an assembly was held, everyone watched. there's a backdrop piece of that story that i didn't realize until i got on the program, and that is we are -- where was the united states in trying to catch up with this? we had a rocket program that came out of some of the navy activities. it was stumbling and bumbling and really horrific fashion. so i think we all kind of sensed how daring allen shepard and john were, those first three flights. but step up another notch. right as they are getting ready

to fly, the guys up the river are trying to get started on the american rocket program blew up 13 rockets in a row. it's -- it worked so not well. they put a warm up. one of them took off and took it over sideways into the [inaudible] river. and someone meanwhile, saying, don't worry, john, we've got, this you're going to be doing just fine. like at the same time. so it was just such an astonishing thing they want to get that by current. >> do you think -- do either of you think -- i mean this was this great achievement in engineering. do you think either of you think that john glenn himself understood the impact he'd had on the american psyche? i'm not sure he did. >> i can only comment from a much smaller version of being an astronaut, and continually discovering that the the --

response, the reaction i get -- again and again, i'm not dumbstruck, i got johnson. i have a list of people i argue would rank higher first than me. yet that ole -- astronaut is natural. there's something that so captures our imagination and our aspiration and maybe every best thing we hope we are in which we can be and hope we will continue to be in the future. we all love to touch those things. and it does permeate in the psyche and the personality of our culture and our country and in strange ways. but john's feet came at the very dawn of this era. we are the first -- you all are the first generations of human beings ever in the history of humankind to live in a space era, where people leave the planet, where we look back at the planet from afar and get those perspectives that help us better understand this place and how it works. and to be someone who helped launch such a profoundly

transformative era and to be the emblem, to be one of the best emblems and ambassadors of that era. >> did he ever talk about it when he -- when you came to know him, david? >> did he ever talk about? no, he never talked about the impact that he was having on people and whatever. in addition to that, and some say it was john when i -- don't know who it was, he was one of the astronauts -- who they put the huge contraption around that they climbed up in, he says, when he was climbing up in there, only think he could think about was this contraption that was built by the lowest bidder. and so he tried to always keep things simple and direct. he tried to minimize the hero-ism that went with that

practice, and john glen did not ever ever, one minute, look upon himself as a hero. he never looked at himself as a hero. >> i kind of -- that was the impression i got from him. and i got to thinking about this as i was preparing for this tonight. maybe the reason was that this was not new for him. and that's part of the things that i think people today don't really understand. this was somebody who flew -- what was it, 70 combat missions in world war ii, as a fighter pilot, later flew, i think it was 30 something -- no, 59, i've got written here -- combat missions. it was 59 combat wishes over the pacific and then went on to fly 90 combat missions in the korean war. this was not the first courageous thing he ever did in his life. and david told me something interesting -- that i have a

new. guess who we flew with? when he was in korea? >> he flew with that great boston globe fred williams. >> fred williams. >> and with that in itself, they said that williams ' eyesight was so far superior to everyone else's that everyone wanted to gather around williams and join him in his flight. and it couldn't be managed, of course, but a lot of the guys got to fly with williams, and he was a very good leader. >> you know -- go ahead, kathryn. >> i want to push back on what she said, john reacted the way he did because it wasn't the first greatest thing he did. that may have been a factor. but every time i was around john, talking to folks, talking about spaceflight, talking about -- he didn't react the way he did because he didn't do

that for him. he really -- he did this as part of being an american. this was advancing the country. it was about all of us it was about serving the country. and i don't think it had anything to do whether he was first or second or had done something before. he just didn't see it as him standing out. he thought it as him doing his part to help all of us, to help this country be all [inaudible] . >> [inaudible] what's happened to me was just what would've happened to anybody who had gone down the same path. >> a lot of serendipity. had the right experience, the right place, right time. and that's another thing that i think [inaudible] let him do not think, not hold yourself out of something totally special. and it wasn't about him, it was about us and it was about the country. >> but don't you think, cathy, it was also about being a pilot for? >> sure? >> he loved to fly. >> he [inaudible] mercury acts were not astronaut. >> but you flew all his life

but i remember even when he was in the senate and i used to talk to him he, always reminded me of the people i was with in the airport. he talked like an air force, or a pilot. you know, he didn't use phrases like no sweat. and i hadn't heard that phrase since i've been in the air force. >> one little story that i tell a lot and it's true, i was asked, i knew him only about two years and jon glenn was invited to speak in arkansas tim event. and i was going to fly down and i got in the plane with a john glenn, his private plane at the national airport. and the wonderful hero who his -- fabulous, and he sat in the backseat, we sat in the front two seats. five hours into this flight for

three out of five hours, i finally realized that this plane did not have -- and i said wait a minute, something in quite right. but i made it to little rock and i was very glad to make it to little rock. he always used to kid me about that, and i always gave me a hard time about it, but he was a true sport. [inaudible] >> one of the other things he was super proud about, matter that he was flying until he was 98. so i think any would have happily cut that off some use funeral. 90 was important and john's life. >> he kept a spinal lights a license until he was 90 and as i understand it, complained about having to sell the airplane. he had kept it and didn't want to give it up. >> he was 92. >> and he would go to an engine beach, where there is a very

rigorous pilot proficiency and john, widely like any good pilot would say, he would usually go down and threw the b triple b. >> and i think what he said, if i recall, when he finally did sell his airplane, it was not because he couldn't fly it anymore, he just felt like he was too hard on his knees and on any sneeze to climb on to the wing to get into the cockpit. so that's why they -- >> it was a pretty high step. >> you know, i want to go back to what you said about he didn't get to fly much after that first orbit. many people thought at the time that the reason -- i know is candidates doing wouldn't let him fly was he was afraid he was going becoming so popular that he might someday want to run against kennedy and that turned out, as i understand it, not to be true because in december of that year, robert kennedy invited

him out for dinner and said, you know, you really ought to think about running for the senate out in ohio. which he did. but you know, david, one thing we don't -- we remember him as an astronaut, we remember him as a senator. it took him a while to get his political career off the ground. >> it truly did. john, as all of us know had two unsuccessful senate races. early on in his career, he slipped up on the bath mat, it is head on a laboratory and had to resign from the race as he needed special treatment. in that particular race, i thought it was interesting, he received 200,000 votes in the primary when he was not even a candidate that year. so that is something that i think is amazing.

and he had another unsuccessful race. against the mitts and bomb and i don't think -- i think it's safe to say that there is no love lost between the two but i won't say that but i think it's the truth. but i think that in the third race was successful and to the senate. he was elected in the state of ohio, i think by well over 100,000 votes, which is an amazing tribute to him and his capabilities. >> that was when you began to share the stage with him from time to time and you told me about one wonderful story about how he would put the spotlight or you bubble isn't like sharing a stage with him? >> it started in my master

flight history because the returning flight we stopped at all the water laying holes, senator representative some folks on the crew. and john's office is for variety of reasons and i could but following a fine example of our senior senator here, i won't make a contrast between senator glenn and another senator, whose office we would have to go by. go by senators office glen -- go by this other senators office an after hello, it is all about his wife. but i won't comment on who that was. but the event that really stands out for me and that one is there is a children's chariot ran sort of therapy camps, had a larger than life, very it guy who had to worst, the largest, loudest oversize code. and they would put all these big fund-raiser zone. they'd ask me when your fight

would come in a booth and sign autographs for three dollars a pop or something like that. and i said sure. i was running the science museum at the time there. and i got there and i discovered that john had actually agreed to do, that i was kind of a late addition. but they said they put me right next to drawn. and i thought, well ok, i'm going to entertain people while i'm gonna wait for john signature because i really can just go home. because you know him. this will be fine. everyone will want to autograph. sure enough, aware side by side and home entertaining people while they're waiting for johnson to grab that every now and then would out of sympathy would say oh yes, please. and it went on for about eight to ten minutes and then john reached across and drugged me over in his booth and just said, it's ex dollars, it's a two from one and proceeded as he personally came up. no no, he you know what she did? and it was like he was my agent.

he wrapped his arms around, he wouldn't let me be there as a fifth wheel, he wouldn't let me -- he rap means orbit and it was completely amazing. and we just slate them on the fund-raiser. >> he tees are a little bit. >> every now and then that might happen. pilots being with pilots are. the best case there was, this is not a varies -- and the university at ohio university who was doing featured him and honor him had event at a football game beforehand. and you know, that was fine, football games, a big crowd scenes. the university called above and have to fight like to come to the game. and then asked if i'd like to come to the presidents luncheon before we came. 300 or so of your closest personal friends. and actually, would i would be

willing to speak? possibly the closing remarks and maybe they wouldn't need to be completely serious. and i said, well ok, i can do that. so this luncheon is hero john cullen, speaker after speaker. then john gets up and john literally, he took his watch off and said boy, after all that stuff piling up here, i need to get my watch higher up so it doesn't get dirty. and he had built this old in space ship that he proceeded to do this humanizing tone down, all this adulation that had come his way. and i put together a top ten list of things that are slightly different than the last time we were flying. things like, he'll be broadcasting color tv so people will be able to tell if you turn green due to space sickness. they won't be parachutes this time, there will be wheels and --

you're going to have a share bathroom this time. but the number one thing that's really different in the last time we did it and before, kind of centered on the super cold memento that the glenn school has, which is the control stick from friendship seven. it's a single-use space ship and a bill that up to a real person spaceship. anything you want, you can take with it. you even have to hand controller. john, there are eight hand controllers on this spacecraft let me promise you that they all belong to kurt brown. and if you so much as touch one, you might go home this time with your severed hand in a glass case. and he and many words cracked up all the way through. >> that is great. he was very competitive. i want to ask you if either of you can actually come from the story. i read that one he was kind of

getting into the astronaut program, he did all the things you're supposed to do but they had a height limit we could only be 5:11 and i am told that he would often put weight on his head trying to compress his spying down so he wouldn't be over the height limit, is that true? >> i can confirm that but i can confirm that if you get to zero gravity, your spine does expand. >> there was one story i read when someone walked into the library where he was reading and he had a book and books on his head, did he ever do that? >> he never did in the senate. but i wouldn't be surprised if he had done it, but i never, to the best of my knowledge, that never occurred. it was just one of those great little folk stories that comes with being a hero. >> let's talk about the senate

days. what was he like in the senate? we know he was a very strong voice on weapon systems and avionics and things like that. he also had his personal interest in nuclear proliferation. what was he really passionate about their? >> he is passionate about the nuclear proliferation legislation. he had been in the senate for four years when ultimately, he passed the nuclear proliferation registration. that passed largely through his interest and the emphasis that he showed -- that went with that whole system. then he was also -- there was another system that he was very -- here, you will meet open that

for you? [laughs] it was -- the other program that he was interested in came along a few years later when a senator of hawaii got 70 cosponsors for a piece of legislation but can never get it before the right committee and never can get it zeroed in. but this was the legislation to reimburse the japanese, the japanese americans in california and the western coast, primarily. and arkansas for example, had two camps. two camps. and we have great displays of their art and flowers that they painted, gardens that they grew,

that's really something that lives on with arkansas. but in late 1989 or so, he got behind highlighter selection and he said i'm going to get behind this legislation and we're going to pass it. they did. it passed. he was passionate about that. he was passion about that issue because he felt like that these people constitutional wise had been abused, they had lost their rights. that's japanese american citizens. and he went to bat and got that legislation passed. that was another situation where he was very involved in. >> and then of course, he later went on to the subcommittee on aviation -- or comedian or member. but he was very involved in that and that provided the

rationale for him going back into space. >> he became the chairman of the senate committee on that. he became the chairman and as a result, he went on the big tour. >> that was really something he really wanted to do. >> really wanted to do that, i remember one conversation i had with him. i don't think he really quite at the -- but he was close. and the space shuttle has two decks when you've been around the exhibits here, four seats on the upper deck and everyone else however you want on the lower deck. john being the pilot figured, something akin to be running down below. and called me up and basically sort of asked, do you think i'll push to get a seat on the flight deck? i told him, you know, your john cline, you can probably have

any see one in that order. right now your trust and added seat to the crew, if you don't fight for a flight deck seat, you are bumping one of the career folks that's been working through a long time to get to right up there. but more importantly, the argument i made to him was, you had to be all over this and painful attention when you're flying friendship seven. you have no time to just absorb the sights and the sounds and the power of white you weren't vetted and because you are embedded in a ball of fire. so wine courage, so i encouraged him don't waste that fight to do. get on with that the mid deck, you can fight. get on the big tech. close your you can close your eyes eyes if you want if you want to just because he was taken taking all the power and power and the sights and sounds of second chance of absence and entry assets and of and the whole world is going entry into the whole world to want to watch you is going to want to watch and you'll be better and they'll be able to sort of watching able to sort of what you and celebrate from and celebrating from down down there. and that's what there. and that's what he ended he ended up doing up doing. and it was and it was a great thing to a great thing to do. do. >> i can tell you. i can testify to how excited he was about this.

i had known john glen and i had covered the congress for 15 years. so i was up there on a lot of the years that he was there. so you know, you get to know people, i did [inaudible] run around with him. but you know, you get to know them well and they know you, and you have a great relationship. and i always had a great relationship with him. but he was the straightest straight arrow that ever was. and i could never recall a time that he ever gave me a story, in other words, before it was supposed to be announced. he was a military guy, he went through channels when it was ready to make it public, they put out a press release. he was always easy to get along with, but you were never going to get one of those sources said kind of stories from john plan, until that. he was so excited about it, he was like the child who came home with a great bait eighth on his report card. i just had to run it to him in the hall, and he said, guess

what! i'm going back in the space! and i said, what's? and i haven't been paying much attention to any of that. and so anyway i got in the scoop! it was my story! [laughs] but it is the one and only story i ever got from gone john cullen. but it's a pretty good one. and i tell you, what -- when i what i always thought about, and i thought about this over the years, zhang glen always came along when we really needed him. you know? i mean, the country, it was in -- we were just worried about our existence of what was going to happen to us and then he went into space. and the second time around? , that was you, know, bill clinton was president, and there had just been horrendous fights and the government shutdowns and all everything that was going on. and i was thinking, i wish i had some good news to report every once in a while, just for

nothing else, just a certain practice. and then i got that story, and i just, it just made me feel good. and i would say it's a good feeling didn't last much longer because it got even more complicated as that presidency went on. but i will always, always remember that. i want to ask each of you, because we are getting to the time, and if one thing i know how to do, that's get off on time. and we would like to ask, take some questions from the audience. so be thinking about if you have a question you would like to ask them. but let me just ask you all this. and kathy, i'll start with you. if you had one thing that you like this group to remember about john quinn, or if you had a favorite memory -- you just heard mine -- what is your favorite memory, and what would you like people most to remember about john glen?

>> i think my favorite memory are those all of half a dozen times i got to go over to the faculty club, and we used to have a private, quiet, talking about life lunch with any edge on. those were just to get those snippets of knowing them as two different human being, stripped away from all of everything else. but this is one of the truly finest, in every sense of that word, smart, confident, courageous, finest human beings, i think, that ever what the planet. can i at one other little thing? because he talked about getting a story. one of the things that struck me about what john did when he was flying on his shuttle flight, you know, he was, of course, the eye candy. he was the tiny shiny tied for the media. so that's what everybody wanted on the tv camera, when they started up, was to show john. the rest was some sort of boring science and engineering. so and so john was happy to be demanded anti i carry for that. i watched a lot of that flight

and i don't think john was ever more than about a minute into one of those spots before he did, with the rest of the it is crewmates what he had done with me, at that fund-raising event, and he said i only know a little bit about this. let me bring in [inaudible] anti-pull in one of the crew folks to make sure they got celebrated and they got the stage. and he was only part of something that was bigger than him. and he had that confidence, that integrity, that security and that humility to be so gracious in sharing the spotlight with people. >> one of the people that gave him that confidence that he always had was his wife, and he. and he was unique individual up. they had a unique relationship. right before you went up on friendship seven, minutes before he was sitting there on the capsule waiting to cast off

and scott. >> [inaudible] . >> yeah -- he decided he was going to plug john glen's telephone into any's in alexandra, virginia. he did, they talked. and he said, i'm not going anywhere, but i'm going down to the corner to get a pack of chewing gum. she says, well don't belong. and so, that's kind of what she lived -- how she left it -- don't belong. well, and glenn was a special person. my wife can attest to this. barbara is right here. barbara and any going, they bonded because they were roommates on the senate wives committee meetings around the world. they bonded, they were close friends. she said to sing that she always remembers about that was

the fact that annie glenn and john glen, talking at midnight, maybe at 1:00 in the morning, before she went to sleep, never once wood -- did she ever lose fact that they were like to college kids or too high school kids, giggling on the phone and laughing about the day's events and having a good time. and that was a lot [inaudible] . >> 73. >> if that was any kind. >> you had a little point poem that you thought might be appropriate. >> i had a little poem that, you know, i don't know where that is. >> [inaudible] on the court on the way. >> sure to your, yeah [inaudible] . >> well, that card. this was during the early training, john cullen. and he took the training seriously, but he decided that

he thought he knew every test, every exercise he had to look at. you finally found that was not the case. he was put in a room, totally dark, black as the ace of spades and he sat there at a little desk with a tablet and a plan for he didn't know what to do, so he sat down and he wrote, he wrote a little poem. [inaudible] inborn talents. use all of them every day. i had to mankind's store of knowledge. make them glad you passed this way. and that was john lynn. and that summed him up. i think. . >> i think that's a good place [inaudible] to stop there. thank you. >> and now i think if we could

have a couple of questions. don't be bashful. all right, here's one. >> kathy sullivan, you join the program where there is a lot of history, to people in the program now -- and not just astronaut for candidates -- but the everyday worker, do they appreciate the history of the program? you had mentioned wally shirra, if they know who wally shirra was. [inaudible] . >> so the question was do people [inaudible] the technical ranks have an appreciation of the history? yeah, i think it's mixed. as folks in all positions of the space program have been drawn because of the power and the importance and the importance of his story of spaceflight and american spaceflight in particular. that they may not know every

single name, the man may not know every single flight, but they know a lot and now serve at, least for the astronaut corps, still does a fairly conscious work to try to pass on that history so when we joined in 1970 8 am for, example, we had a sequence of lectures to give us a sense of what was murky, what was german, what was apollo. why were they put together the way they were. what was it [inaudible] what was it like and what was it like to be an astronaut in those programs. those were not like professorial lectures. let's work, they would bring the flight crews from those [inaudible] so one of my most magical days as a navy astronaut was having neil armstrong and mike collins spent five hours with us talking about what was apollo 11 designed to do and what was it like being on that too and what did they learn and what did they miss and what do you what went wrong? and if you get a lot of flight look out for this. mike and [inaudible] and we'll, critical. >> critical.

wells? my team. >> do you know that [inaudible] i don't know. but i suspect the same rules of spaceflight applied then as in my era, which is there's no such thing as a bad spaceflight. flying through is better than later. long flights are better than short flights. [inaudible] and referred to rule number one. it's a competitive [inaudible] everyone wants every core flight. but i, i would imagine that it was still sort of dimly perceived. how the public would react. allen shepard was the first american in space like brett retain will take people in the space, john was the first to go, but i bet no one quite recognized which way the public sizeable would break at that time. >> where are we? yeah, sure. >> real love though. >> can you [inaudible]

actually like to be an astronaut? >> i like [inaudible] wants to be an astronaut. >> what advice to someone who really wants to be an astronaut? from young woman. >> yeah, great question i. would say two things. don't ever always believe your dreams, just in part. it takes a lot of hard work. the other thing i would say is every day in school he is the equivalent of the first day of astronaut training. so invest in your education. put your best effort into every day of school. from it teacher off a course, whatever it might be, give it your best. one more because we have a surprise here [inaudible] and personal stories own personal memories of expense. my question is [inaudible] what is your single most impactful a valuable lesson that you learn [inaudible]

. >> [inaudible] . >> oh, from jean glen. >> biggest take away? >> i think that john blended more to restore faith in this country and our system of government, and i think he did this by being an example to the rest of us, to all the young people who were there. he was our example and he was -- he was our -- we followed him. we would have followed him anywhere i think. and i think it was a great, great testimony of his to leave that with us. and that was, i think, what i will remember most about john glenn. and i just keep thinking of him as the architect of courage

[inaudible] competency, caring. if i could come near and living up to his standards on any of those things i would consider myself to have done a fine job. >> he was a true american hero. and as i said at the beginning of this evening, you know, we live in this age now where it's possible to become famous by just being famous. he was famous for all the right reasons. and like most to heroes, he became famous because he didn't care about being famous. he cared about to doing the job that he felt needed to be done. i liked him so much, covering capitol hill, because he always told the truth which is becoming rarer and rarer in these troubled times! you could always find john glenn if the news was bad or

good and you could still find him. it's not hard to find a lot of politicians, and david will agree with miss, when the news is good about them. but the ones you come to admire and trust maybe the ones you do not make a move when [inaudible] at least they were there and you had a chance to ask. well david, did you want something to say more. i >> i didn't have anything else to say but this is a great evening to remember him as a hero. is a good to hear. in my mind, in iowa's values that opportunity. >> i will certainly didn't agree with. that we're not done yet. we have a surprise for you. because here tonight is john when's dodger, lyn then. and we want to bring her up.

just go right up to the [inaudible] . >> well, i've been taking notes a bit. hi everyone,. >> you are the fact checker. >> well, i'm so pleased to be here on dad's birthday, to everything that was said is more than true, although i have also said that when a person walked up to be the first times and said oh it's going to be, was it like to have johnson as your father? the first thing i thought was just my dad, you know. it's just my dad. denote i think a reminded, though, of his -- is the way he the way was perceived in the he was perceived world the way the world was something that really was like everybody has kind of said, was really not in our

family's nature to even consider. that, before his flight, said he was going on this flight because he wanted to serve the country and patriotism and serving the country was what was the most important to him. and he lived his whole life in service to the country. and i think those are qualities now,, as some have said, that are quite lacking, is belief in service to the country. and to that, it went get retired from the senate, he went back to ohio and initially it was it an institute and now it is the glenn college of public service and public affairs. and it is a legacy that i can keep and that he wants to live way longer than anything else in his life because knowing

that each generation must take responsibility and each generation must choose to serve this great country and it isn't about individuals, it's truly service and patriotism. and so i know that's one of his greatest legacies that he would say that as well. now i just have a couple of corrections. dad knew that he was the oldest astronaut and so when he left nasa, he left primarily for that reason. and also because he had always been interested in politics from the time he was a little boy. and it was a year's a later, he was told, that he assumed he would fly because he had been older. but he was told that president kennedy had told the people that nasa that they could not allow him to fly again because he was very concerned it would

and. he was so identified with the program that he was killed, it could end the whole space program. but it was only much after the fact that he heard that, that's not why he left when he did. like i said, he was -- and in politics, the first time here and i think that senator pryor that he fell. the people in ohio, the politicians, and one to get him to continue to run. and he refused and even though there were a lot of writings, but he refused and his name was already -- they kept wanting him to be on. he did not want people to vote for him because of who he was. he wanted them to vote for him because of his ideas and what he hoped for our country. he did not want to ride on his name model. and so, i think that too is -- shows his nature.

i never saw him sitting with books on his head. never saw that, bob. what can i say? [laughs] he was aware of being a little out of standard for the nasa parameters at that time, but i think more than anything, he probably trust took it down just a smidge. i think it's hard to remember how new it was when dad went up, how many -- how new spaceflight wise. when he went into space, we didn't even know if his eyes would work because our eyes are filled with water, with liquid. and it was so we knew that even something like that was not known. that also knew that he was very proud that a living human being was going into space and there

was no plan for him to carry a camera. and so, he brought a camera at the local store where we lived in arlington, and he brought it so he would be able to use it and trip it within his gloves. and i think, if i remember, he told them he had it and he might not have it. and he wanted to be able to be doing back images that would show the people what it was like and he did that. and the author -- also, sorry bob, ma'am and dad were married for 73 years. >> close enough. >> close enough. now i don't want to do something, i want general daily to please come up here. he doesn't know anything about this. nothing. after dad died, i was going through some of the things on

his desk and i found this box, so this is the first thing for jack, as i call him. i found this box around in this box was another box. and in this box was a pouch. and in the pouch is a shuttle tight clasp that dad carried back into space. he had that for you. he had your name on the box. it's for you. [applause] and something else. something else that you will probably don't know but this man a submarine, my dad was a marine. and through the years, around

of course this museum and being marines, they certainly kept in touch. but this man helped, he's a golden eagle and golden eagles, many of them including the charlie bolden, who was head of nasa for years, also a golden eagle, they literally took my dad to his grave on april 6th. mom and dad 74th wedding anniversary. and has a comment, this also relates to something that senator pryor said. one dad left for combat and later tour to space flights, he gave mother and later gave me a stick of double mint come. he take here, i'm going to the store to buy another pack. i'll be back. a statement of reassurance and connection to those he left behind. so here for you jack, you're going to have to open this one. so here for you jack, a stick

of double mint gum. it's a statement of reassurance and connection, may also be a reminder of the friendship and kinship you shared with dad. thank you jack. i am so grateful for your presence in his life. double mint gum [laughs] [applause] there were certain people, this man is the one who -- i told him that when dad was very sick and i asked him, and will how many of the people are left that you used to fly with? ted williams was one but he's been gone a long time. and i said, there anybody left that you can really talk with about flying and being income back? and immediately he said, they are all gone except jack dailey and we didn't fly in the same war but he understood what that was. like and so -- and jack would

call and kept in touch, and that kind of? , of connection was what made that truly who he was. because that's what was most important to him where the individual people that were in his life and the gratitude he shared. so thank you so much. >> my pleasure. >> [inaudible] . >> and by the way, i had this designed and made, and it's needlepoint. and i did the needle park. and i've made these just for the people on the [inaudible] this is for people who were there with and for dad. and so we were very much a part of his life. so we'll take this and go back to our seats and. yes, of course, you can have the box. i'll give you even both boxes. >> thank you so much.

>> you're welcome. here. and i also have another letter just for you. but we'll talk about that later. >> okay. thanks. >> there you go. >> thank you. >> well, i had a snappy ending but i can't remember what it was. thank you so much, lyn, this really means a lot to be. that concludes the program, folks. when i want to thank all of you for being here and i want to thank bill for making it possible. and i want to thank our panel for sharing the remembers of a great man. and there was one story that i thought would be told here tonight, and i'm going to take the liberty of [inaudible] it because senator glenn spoke here. i mentioned came every time we

had the college. and he always had something that he would leave with us. and on many -- actually several occasions, so you may probably may have heard this before -- but he, after one of these events where he had been lauded all evening buy multiple speakers and given trophies and all this sort of thing, they go home, and they came in the house and as he was putting their coats up, he says, you know, there really aren't that many great men in the world. and without hesitation, and he said, there's one less than you think there are. a so unless [inaudible] another story, folks. so thanks for being here. please -- please exit through the rear of the theater thank you.

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