Jan. 4, 1965 - Col. John Glenn Jr. retired from the U.S. Marine Corps today. He declared that he was 100% fit and denied reports that a bathroom fall in which he was injured had been an after-effect of his experience as an astronaut.
“Pure fabrication,” he called such a report. He said there was no lingering effect from his three-orbit flight around the Earth and that he was retiring without disability.
Retirement ceremonies for the first American to orbit the Earth — in February 1962 — took place in the office of the Marine Corps commandant, Gen. Wallace Greene Jr. Other top Marines also were on hand with Col. Glenn’s wife and two children.
Gen. Greene recalled the 42-year-old Marine’s nearly 23 years in the corps — 149 combat missions in World War II and Korea and his space flight.
Col. Glenn will receive $589.34 per month retirement pay and is to become a member of the Royal Crown Bottling Company. He declined to say what his civilian pay will be.
He will devote most of his working time as a paid consultant to NASA. He did not say what he would be paid, but the usual consultant fee is about $50 per day for days worked.
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