BREAKING: American Hero Suddenly Dies... Please Send Your Prayers American lost a true explorer and hero this week with the death of former astronaut John Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth. The ex-Marine and US Senator died at the age of 95, surrounded by his children and his wife of 73 years. Glenns biggest accomplishment was circling the earth in 1962 aboard the Friendship 7 space capsule, marking the moment the US caught up with the Soviet Union in a manned space exploration. His accomplishments didnt start or stop there. Before joining Americas space agency, Glenn served as a combat pilot in World War II and the Korean War. He earned six Distinguished Flying Crosses and flew more than 150 missions during the two conflicts. After returning to Earth from his 1962 mission, Glenn was elected as a Democrat to the US Senate, where he served for 24 years. In 1998, he became the oldest man to travel to space, at age 77. To look out at this kind of creation out here and not believe in God is, to me, impossible, Glenn said of that mission. His business career, which included an investment in a chain of Holiday Inns, made him a multi-millionaire. One of the remarkable things about Glenn was the fact that he came from modest roots. He was born in Ohio in 1921 as the only son of a plumber and schoolteacher. From his boyhood, Glenn had an admiration for planes. That passion lasted through his entire lifehe was piloting his own aircraft as recently as five years ago. In 2011, Glenn received the Congressional Gold Medal and a year later, Obama presented him with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. On Thursday, Obama noted that Glenn had spent his life breaking barriers. NASA called him a true hero. 