COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - The latest on services for the late astronaut John Glenn (all times EST):
5:10 p.m.
A chorus has sung “Let There Be Peace On Earth” to a packed Ohio State University auditorium, capping a memorial service filled with moving tributes to the late space pioneer John Glenn.
Vice President Joe Biden and a retired Marine Corps general were among those who choked up while praising Glenn for bravery, consideration of others and his many achievements during the more than two hours of a “celebration of life” in his home-state Ohio’s capital on Saturday afternoon.
Ethel Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. were among mourners present, along with Ohio political leaders. Glenn was a longtime Democratic U.S. senator.
Glenn died Dec. 8 at age 95. He was the first American to orbit the Earth in 1962, and in 1998 became the oldest person in space at age 77.
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3:40 p.m.
Vice President Joe Biden says space pioneer John Glenn “defined what it meant to be an American.”
Biden told a memorial service crowd packing an Ohio State University auditorium Saturday that fellow Democratic lawmaker Glenn knew that ordinary Americans could do extraordinary things.
Retired Marine Corps Gen. John Dailey says the nation had Glenn for 95 years and “it still wasn’t enough.”
Political leaders and military and space officials joined mourners in the state’s capital city.
Bagpipes played as the flag-draped coffin was brought into Mershon Auditorium. A procession of Glenn’s hearse went from the Ohio Statehouse to the memorial service called “a celebration of life” for the former fighter pilot, astronaut and longtime U.S. senator from small-town Ohio.
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1:35 p.m.
Mourners who braved cold and icy roads are packing an Ohio State University auditorium ahead of a memorial service for space pioneer John Glenn as his funeral procession approaches the hall.
Barricades have been placed along the main road from the Statehouse to Mershon Auditorium to accommodate the procession of Glenn’s hearse to the memorial service called “a celebration of life” for the former fighter pilot, astronaut and longtime Democratic U.S. senator from small-town Ohio.
Democratic Vice President Joe Biden is among those expected to take part in the Saturday afternoon service. A host of other dignitaries, including present and former governors, members of Ohio’s congressional delegation and university leaders, were in attendance.
Glenn died Dec. 8 at age 95.
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10:20 a.m.
A celebration of John Glenn’s life is planned in Ohio’s capital as the space pioneer’s home state and the nation continue to honor him.
Vice President Joe Biden is among those expected for the Saturday afternoon memorial service in an Ohio State University auditorium for the Glenn, who died Dec. 8 at age 95.
Thousands paid their respects Friday in a public viewing of his flag-draped casket inside Ohio’s Statehouse rotunda. They included Secretary of State John Kerry. Glenn was also a fighter pilot and longtime Democratic U.S. senator.
Glenn was the first American to orbit the Earth in 1962, and in 1998 became the oldest person in space at age 77. Burial is planned at Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C., in a private ceremony in the spring.
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