NASA Photo

Very late on the night of 20 July 1969 in a small home in the Appalachians, I watched as a figure moved down a ladder, and into history.  On that night, mankind became a true spacefaring spieces as Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin set foot on the alien world that is our moon. 

To be honest, I don't really remember his exact words.  Neil maintained that he said "one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind" and I will not dispute him on that.  I also remember that our hosts, who were in many ways the grandparents I never had, remembered the night both for his step and for the fact that it was the latest they had ever stayed up in their lives.  It was a night of firsts, a night for which people shared televisions with those who had them not, or were not able to get to one at that amazing time. 

At that age, it really didn't register to me that Neil Armstrong was a Naval Aviator (Lt. JG) or that he had flown combat in Korea.  I never new until years after about his plane being hit on a mission, and that he kept it in the air but then lost a few feet of wing to a pole (some say he hit an anti-aircraft chain) because of how low he pulled it out.  He kept it in the air despite that, and finally ejected only when it could be done safely over water -- even if winds blew him back to land where a friend with a jeep picked him up. What is out there about him comes almost exclusively from others, complete with contradictions.

Then again, that's not surprising as he was in many ways a quiet and modest man.  Someone who much preferred teaching to the telling of tales.  Someone who worked hard to build the next generation of explorers, aviators, and engineers. 

Today, he has taken that final giant step that awaits us all.  Godspeed Neil Armstrong. 

LW

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A long time ago we have a dream, thanks for keep the dream alive Neil Armstrong.