John Glenn lies in honour at Ohio capitol for public goodbye

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Glenn died last week at 95. He grew up in eastern Ohio before becoming a national hero when he orbited Earth in 1962. Before that he was a fighter pilot in World War II and Korea.

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A Democrat, Glenn also spent more than two decades representing Ohio in the U.S. Senate and became the oldest man in space, at age 77 in 1998.

Kerry, who served with Glenn in the Senate, walked up with Ohio Gov. John Kasich late in the afternoon and put a hand on the casket.

Glenn’s widow, Annie, gently rubbed the flag covering the casket while seated in a wheelchair, accompanied by the couple’s two children.

The public viewing Friday was scheduled to stretch at least eight hours. Visitors in the line, which grew as the day wore on, proceeded patiently as video screens and placards placed within view recounted his life of accomplishment, including a late-in-life civics education project he launched with the former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor.

Most paused for a moment in front of Glenn’s closed casket. A few snapped photos. Some bowed their heads or crossed themselves. One man, holding the hand of a small boy, turned and saluted before walking away.

President Abraham Lincoln and seven others before Glenn have lain in repose in Ohio since its capitol building opened in the 1850s, according to the Ohio History Connection, a statewide history organization.

“This guy was one of our great Ohioans. I wasn’t going to miss this event,” said Holly Rogers, 62, who works nearby. “I wasn’t here for Abraham Lincoln, so I can be here for John Glenn.”

A series of events celebrating Glenn’s life is planned, including a processional through the heart of downtown Columbus Saturday followed by a public memorial service at Ohio State University, where he helped found a public affairs college. Vice-President Joe Biden, a former Senate colleague of Glenn’s, was among those expected to attend the service.

Glenn will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C., in a private ceremony in the spring.

Julie Carr Smyth, The Associated Press