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Do you think NASA knew this was going to happen and decided to keep the crew in the dark?

When John Glenn made his historic 3 orbits of the Earth there was an indication that his heat shield was compromised.

They told him not to eject the service module of his capsule so that it would absorb heat and burn away instead of his heat shield.

They did NOT tell him that his heat shield was compromised.

Let me be very specific.

They DELIBERATELY decided NOT to tell him and kept him in the dark about the potential consequences.

They let him reenter and kept their fingers crossed because they knew that there was nothing else they could do. They also realized that telling him would cause him undue and unneeded stress as his stress levels at that point in time were maxed out anyway.

Things were different then. If Glenn's space capsule was compromised there was nothing anyone could do. He was flying a rock and had no controls whatsoever. He had no supplies and there was literally no chance for a rescue.

In this case if the wing had been compormised and they knew it, there were lota of options. But they needed to start on those options the minute they suspected anything. I have heard a number of times today that the Shuttle Atlantis could have been readied in less than a week. It could not have been tested and tested and tested, but it could have been ready for an emergency mission in less than a week.

There was also the possiblity of a resupply from a disposable vehicle like the russians used to build and serivce their space stations. They could have stayed up long enough to mount a rescue mission if they had a resupply of oxygen scrubbers and food and stuff.

There were ways. My only hope is that they didn't really suspect that it was as bad as it was. Otherwise, heads will roll.

They told him not to eject the service module of his capsule

There was no "service module" in the Mercury system. It was the retro rocket pack that he was told not to eject, and he didn't.