Glynn Lunney says, "We have no clue how many cosmonauts the Russians killed before they sent Gagarin back alive." Contrary to the beliefs of some conspiracy theorists, later historians have clearly established that Gagarin was, in fact, the first Soviet cosmonaut launched into space. The only cosmonaut who died prior to Gagarin's flight, Valentin Bondarenko, was killed in a training accident on the ground.
Assuming that John Glenn will be the first American in space, Eunice says he will be "closer to the Lord than any believing man's ever been." This implies that she thinks Yuri Gagarin did not believe in God and/or Christianity. While this is a natural assumption for an American in 1961 to make, it is far from certain (for one thing, Gagarin had his daughter baptized).