It was a final goodbye to a space pioneer, the first American to orbit the Earth.

  • John Glenn, space legend and former US senator, died in December
  • Private ceremony at Arlington held on his 74th wedding anniversary
  • Glenn was 1st American to orbit the Earth

John Glenn was laid to rest on a rainy Thursday at Arlington National Cemetery just outside Washington, D.C.

Though Glenn died in December at age 95, the family scheduled the service for what would have been John and Annie Glenn’s 74th wedding anniversary.

His flag-draped casket was drawn by horses to his gravesite at Arlington, accompanied with a 21-gun salute and the playing of taps.

The Mercury 7 astronaut fueled NASA’s dreams of reaching farther in space in 1962 with his historic orbit around the planet.

But Glenn’s service wasn’t done.

He served as a U.S. senator from Ohio for 24 years. Then in 1998, he made more history, becoming the oldest person to fly in space at the age of 77 on space shuttle Discovery.

Although a public service was held shortly after his death, it was decided that his burial service would be private. Glenn’s wife, Annie, sat under a tent at the gravesite, next to the couple’s two children. A Marine kneeled to present her with the American flag.

In Glenn’s honor, President Donald Trump ordered flags at half-staff at federal buildings, and Gov. Rick Scott did as well at state facilities in Florida.