Flags to fly half-staff Thursday for John Glenn’s burial at Arlington

President Trump, Gov. Kasich issue orders honoring burial of Ohio legend.

Flags in Ohio will fly at half-staff from sunrise to sunset Thursday to honor the late John H. Glenn, Jr., who will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

President Donald Trump and Ohio Gov. John Kasich ordered flags to be flown at half-staff at all public buildings and grounds as a tribute.

Glenn lived a storybook life under the bright and constant glare of public attention, awe and adoration. The small-town Ohio boy married his childhood sweetheart, served as a fighter pilot in two wars, a test pilot, an astronaut and a U.S. Senator.

Glenn died Dec. 8 at age 95.

“As a mark of respect for the memory of John Glenn, I hereby order, by the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, that on the day of his interment, the flag of the United States shall be flown at half‑staff at the White House and upon all public buildings and grounds,” a proclamation from Trump read.

Related: John Glenn, the ‘last true national hero,’ dead at 95

Ohioans and national and state leaders honored Glenn in an emotional service at Ohio State University that included a Marine escort from the Ohio Statehouse to the university’s main campus.

Related: Highlights from John Glenn memorial service

On Feb. 20, 1962, Glenn became an instant hero when he became the first American to orbit the Earth. In 1998, at age 77, he returned to space aboard the shuttle Discovery.

Related: Anniversary of John Glenn mission around the Earth

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