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Glenn pays respects to proud fighter pilot
By Joe Burris, Globe Staff, 7/23/2002
''I never heard Ted complain one time,'' said Glenn, 81, who participated in last night's memorial service to honor the man he calls the best wingman he ever flew with. Glenn said the two flew half of Williams's 39 missions together, as part of the BMF-311 Squadron. He added that though Williams is known as the best hitter who ever lived, his fondest memories of the Red Sox slugger are of an excellent Marine fighter pilot who served his country proudly. ''I don't know what kind of records he might have set had he not been recalled back in. Who knows what would have happened with the record book if he had that time in baseball? He never complained once, and I don't think there was anyone prouder to be a Marine than Ted Williams,'' said Glenn. ''I think Ted's a good example of the attitude people should have toward serving their country. I never heard Ted gripe once - not once - about being called back in, even though some of his best years in baseball might have occurred at that time. ''I never heard him complain one time. Not a single word. He did his job. He was good. He concentrated on it. He was dedicated to being just as great a pilot as he was a ball player back here. And he was a good one.'' Glenn relayed that to the Fenway crowd last night, and when he said Williams didn't complain, ''not one word'', about serving, the crowd applauded. He also told a story about Williams being spotted in Japan by a group of children, who wondered if he was the major league player. Neither could speak the other's language, so one of the youngsters got into a batting stance, swung, and pointed to him, and Williams laughed, and nodded to say he was indeed the great major leaguer. ''The boy got into the stance again, but this time Ted scowled at him,'' said Glenn, much to the laughter of the crowd. ''He went over to where the boy was standing. He put him in a batting position, and proceeded to correct his form,'' added Glenn. ''He made this little kid stand with his feet farther apart, more bent at the waist, head more lined up with an imaginary pitcher, and arms farther back to start his swing. ''Leaving the boy in that stance, Ted stepped back several paces and took a pitching position and threw an imaginary baseball toward the boy, who swung with all his might. Ted ducked, let out a whooshing, whooping big yell, swung around 180 degrees as though that non-existent baseball was headed to the center field bleachers. ''The kids were jumping up and down and no one was more surprised than the batter, and I'm sure he was an instant hero. Ted got a bigger kick out of that than the kids did. As a spoken language, not a word was understood in either direction. But it was not necessary.'' The first American to orbit the earth (Feb. 20, 1962), Glenn flew 90 combat missions in the Korean War and shot down three enemy planes. He also served as a Marine Corps pilot in World War II. He earned five Distinguished Flying Crosses and 19 air medals. He said he met Williams while Williams was taking a jet refresher course in North Carolina in 1952, just before the two were shipped out to Korea. He spoke of a pilot who was as fearless in the skies as he was at the plate. He also spoke about a combat incident that almost cost Williams his life. ''He got hit by anti-aircraft fire and he had an engine fire coming out the back of his airplane,'' said Glenn. ''Usually on the old F9F, The Panther, when that had happened on previous flights with somebody, they would have to bail out or the tail blew off the airplane. Ted didn't want to get out. ''His radio was out. His hydraulics [system] was out. He came around and made a belly landing because he couldn't get the landing gear down. He slid up the runway about 1,500 feet, got out, and watched the plane burn. He was about as close as you get on that one of not surviving.'' Glenn also spoke of the time when Williams was flying in low while they were making an attack on a fortified bunker and another bunker exploded beneath him. He said an eight-inch rock flew up into Williams's fuel tank and made a jagged hole in it. ''He was an excellent fighter pilot and he wasn't one that hung back, he was in there pressing the attacks like everyone else,'' said Glenn. ''I remember one time someone asked him what was his favorite music, and he said without hesitation, `The Star Spangled Banner, the Marine Corps hymn, and Take Me Out to the Ballgame.''' Glenn retired from the astronaut program in 1964 and won election to the US Senate in 1974, then was re-elected from 1980-92. He failed to win the 1984 Democratic presidential nomination and decided not to run for Senate re-election in 1998. Glenn said last night that among his more animated conversations with Williams were ones about politics, particularly since Williams was a Republican. ''We had some great political discussions,'' said Glenn. ''He was not one to hold back on his views, and neither was I.'' Glenn returned to space aboard the shuttle Discovery in 1998. He was 77, making him the oldest person to participate in space travel. Glenn said he invited Williams to come to Cape Canaveral for the launch and Williams obliged. ''John Henry [Ted's son] brought him over in a wheelchair,'' said Glenn. ''Of course, I didn't see this, but I was told that when I was taking off and the rocket was going off and clearing the pad, Ted stood up out of his wheelchair, and said, `That's my friend.''' Glenn did not want to comment on the feud the Williams family is engaged in. ''I'm sure they're going to get it worked out. I hope it's worked out shortly. That's up to them, not me,'' he said. Glenn said last night's memorial was appropriate for Williams, even though many said he would not have wanted one. ''I'd think he would like that,'' said Glenn about the tribute. ''I'm sure he wanted to be remembered for some of the things he did, and for some of the things he did in the Marine Corps. He was very proud of being a good pilot.''
This story ran on page F5 of the Boston Globe on 7/23/2002. | |||||||
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he United States Marine Corps fighter pilot, astronaut and senator who flew missions over Korea with Ted Williams has heard that Williams complained about serving his country at that time - which was his second military stint. John Glenn last night sought to shoot such perceptions out of the sky.