Many are gathering this weekend to pay their respects to an American icon John Glenn in memorial services. One of Glenn’s last major public appearances was in July at a ceremony renaming Port Columbus International Airport for him. Statehouse correspondent Andy Chow looks back at Glenn’s comments that day and the message he wanted to share.
The first American to orbit the Earth told the crowd that he was captivated by aviation at a young age. When he was a boy visiting Columbus, Glenn said he'd ask his parents to stop by the airport on the way home to New Concord.
“It was to stop over here at the what is still the old tower that is still sitting over in the southeast corner of the field and stand along the fence there and watch the airplanes. There weren’t as many then as there are now and it was something though that I was fascinated with.”
Glenn said that day he continued to fly until five years before, when he reached 90. He added that he hoped the airport could inspire the next generation of young minds to create and innovate in aviation.
