Neil Armstrong Letter

 Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, passed away in August 2012.   He is one of many VIPs of our nation and so merited a post about him on my blog at that time.   A few days after his death, Glenn Beck read on his radio program an amazing letter previously written by Mr. Armstrong to a young man.  The letter is dated 16 June, 2008, and was addressed to the son of some of friends.

I have not been able to get this letter off my mind and thought I would share it on my blog. The letter illustrates the importance of operating within our sphere of influence to build and strengthen the rising generation. Please note how Mr. Armstrong makes history come alive for this young man and how humble and grateful he sounds.   He gives wonderful counsel and serves as a great example for all of us.   I am grateful the young man or his family thought to share this priceless letter, which is as follows.

It was such a pleasure to meet you on our recent visit to your home.  My wife, Carol, and I were pleased to learn about your school work, your interests, and your activities.

My own childhood was somewhat different than yours.  I was born on a farm and lived in small towns.  We had a radio for news and entertainment, but television and computers had not yet been invented.

In school I liked most all of my subjects, but I particularly liked science and mathematics.  In the fourth grade, I became interested in airplanes and began to build and fly model aircraft.  Aviation excited me, and I decided that I wanted to design airplanes.

About that time, the Japanese bombed an American Naval Base in Hawaii called Pearl Harbor and destroyed many Navy ships and Army aircraft.  This attack marked our entry into World War II.  The United States was at war with Japan and their allied nations, Germany and Italy.  Gasoline, meat, sugar, and many other things were rationed, which meant that each family could not buy just anything they wanted or as much as they wanted as everyone does now.  Winning the war required everyone to sacrifice and to limit their consumption of things that were necessary for the war.  My classmates and I often collected paper and scrap metal for the war effort.

It was a very difficult and very tragic time.  Over 400,000 Americans were killed during the war.  Worldwide, about 70 million people lost their lives.

In the 7^th grade I had a job working in a cemetery, mowing grass and raking leaves.  Later I worked in a bakery, a grocery store, and a hardware store.

I had decided I wanted to be an airplane designer but, in order to be a good one, I thought it would be helpful to be a pilot.  So, when I was 15, which was the year the war ended, I used some of my money I had been earning to pay for flying lessons.  The rest I saved for college.

In high school, I selected my courses to support my goal of becoming an airplane designer.  That worked out well for me when the Navy held a competition for a college scholarship combined with becoming a Naval Aviator.  I was lucky enough to be one of those selected which allowed me to go to the university of my choice.  I selected Purdue University in Indiana which had an outstanding school of aeronautical engineering.

The Navy taught me to fly military aircraft including the new jets.  A war between North and South Korea had broken out and the United Nations sent in troops to try to end the war.  The Soviet Union (Russia and some of its neighboring countries) and other communist nations were supporting North Korea.  I was sent to the war as a Navy pilot flying from an aircraft carrier.  I returned to Purdue from the war to finish my engineering studies.

In my Navy experience, I learned about the exciting field of testing new airplanes.  This captured my imagination because it was a field where I could use both my engineering knowledge and my flying skills.  I decided to switch my goal from airplane design to flight testing.

I was fortunate to get a flight testing job – flying new, high performance airplanes including some that were rocket powered.  I genuinely enjoyed my work and learned a great deal.  When the Soviet Union launched the first satellite, named Sputnik, it started what was called “The Space Race”.

The Russians seemed to be far ahead of the Americans.  In addition to the first satellite, they flew the first animal into space, a dog named Laika; they sent the first space probes to the Moon, Mars, and Venus.  And they were the first to put a human into orbit, Yuri Gagarin.

Americans decided to compete with them by trying to be the first to send a human to the surface of the moon.  That was a very exciting idea, and I decided I wanted to be a part of that program.  I applied and fortunately was one of those who [were] accepted.

The early American human space flight efforts were composed of the Mercury program, the Gemini program, and the Apollo program.  I missed the Mercury program but was able to fly in both the Gemini and Apollo spacecraft.  It was difficult and exciting work, and I enjoyed it immensely.

When I was your age, I read about fantastic voyages to the moon in books by H.G. Wells and Jules Verne, but they were just fantasy.  I never could have guessed that people would fly into space during my lifetime.  Even as a young adult, I would not have believed it.  And you will not be able to predict the opportunities that you will have in your lifetime.  Preparing yourself so that you can take advantage of the changes you cannot predict is difficult.  It is probably best to learn about a lot of different things.

In my work, I depended on many people.  In space flight, whether it be a fellow crewman or a flight controller in Mission Control on Earth, I was often trusting that person with my life.  When you depend on others you want to be able to trust them.  You will want to know that they say what they mean and they mean what they say.  And they will want to feel the same way about you.  Your word should be beyond question.

There is much uncertainty to life.  Good health may be taken away from you without warning.  Material possessions may be lost due to circumstances beyond your control.  The one thing that cannot be taken from you, without your consent, is your character, which includes your beliefs, your ethics, and your principles.  So guard them with care.  They are your most valuable possessions.

The 21^st century has much promise.  Remarkable things may be created and achieved.  And each of you will have the opportunity to play a role in achieving and creating a better world.  I know you will try.  Good luck!!  I wish I had your future.  Sincerely, (signed) Neil A. Armstrong

Neil Armstrong

                    The death of Neil Armstrong passed away from complications from cardiovascular procedures on Friday, August 24, 2012, in Cincinnati, Ohio, at age 82.  Armstrong became one of the greatest heroes of the twentieth century on July 20, 1969, when he became the first man to walk on the moon.  As the world watched on grainy black and white television images, he stepped down from the lunar module.  About the same time he made a statement that is now etched in stone:  "That's one small step for a man; one giant leap for mankind."

                    My husband and I were gathered with several work colleagues in Ventura, California, to watch this great happening.  We understood that history was being made, and we wanted to be a part of it!  There was great excitement in the room as we watched him take the first steps on the moon.  We were also celebrating the fact that the United States had won the space race with Russia by putting the first man on the moon!  Even among the joy of the success, I remember the somewhat worried concern that the astronauts might not make it back to earth or even off the moon.  No one was aware of this possibility more than the astronauts themselves, but they willingly made the trip.  President Richard Nixon had a speech prepared just in case disaster happened!

                    Armstrong described himself as "white-sock, pocket-protector, nerdy engineer" at one of his rare public appearances in 2000.  He was not comfortable with being so famous and shunned the spotlight for most of the rest of his life.  He considered the fact that he stepped out of the module ahead of his fellow astronaut Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin just an accident of fate that did not make him anything special.

                    Of course, many other people think differently of his achievement.  NASA administrator Charles Bolden said, "As long as there are history books, Neil Armstrong will be included in them, remembered for taking humankind's first small step on a world beyond our own."

                    Whenever Armstrong was asked to describe his feelings about being the first man to walk on the moon, he always shared the glory.  He was always aware that his accomplishment was the result of the "work of 300,000 to 400,000 people over a decade."

Armstrong was always quiet and modest but courageous and capable.  He remained cool under pressure and did much of his work quietly.  He did not flee from attention, but he never encouraged it. 

                    Neil Armstrong was a remarkable man.  He was a true hero, both in his accomplishment and in his attitude.  He deserves to have his name and accomplishment etched in stone for all eternity!

Space Program

At 11:29 a.m. on Friday, July 8, 2011, Atlantis blasted into space for the last time. This NASA mission is the "final chapter in a 30-year story of dazzling triumphs, shattering tragedy and, ultimately, unfulfilled expectations" (Marcia Dunn, AP). There were approximately a million people present to watch the beginning of the 135th shuttle mission.

Atlantis and four astronauts took a year's supply of critical items to the International Space Station. After orbiting for twelve days, the shuttle is schedule to return on July 20, 2011, with a load of trash. Atlantis is scheduled to be on display at the Kennedy Space Center after it returns.

There appears to be a plan to continue some kind of space program because NASA Administrator Charles Bolden reportedly told the launch control team that there is another program to get under way after the end of this mission. There also appears to be a long-time NASA goal to fly to an asteroid and possibly to Mars, but apparently it will be three to five years before more astronauts lift off from earth again.

I feel some sadness knowing that our space program has apparently been gutted or at least mothballed for a few years. Americans were not the first to go into space, but we were the first to land on the moon. Landing on the moon is considered to be a major accomplishment in the history of space exploration. During a 1961 mission statement before the U.S. Congress in 1961, President John F. Kennedy said, "I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth." Apollo 11 fulfill JFK's goal of reaching the Moon before the end of the 1960s and before the Soviet Union could do so. The goal of landing on the Moon united the nation in a common mission.

Apollo 11, the fifth manned mission and the third lunar mission of NASA's Apollo program, launched from Florida on July 16, 1969, with Commander Neil Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins, and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, Jr. The Lunar Module, known as the "Eagle," landed on the moon on July 20, 1969, with Armstrong and Aldrin on board. Collins continued to orbit the Moon in the Command Module, known as the Columbia.

I joined some friends in California on July 21, 1969, to watch Armstrong take his first step onto the surface of the moon. His first recorded words from the Moon were, "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind." About twenty minutes later, Aldrin became the second man to walk on the moon.

The Eagle spent a total of 21 hours and 31 minutes on the lunar surface, and the astronauts gathered 47.5 pounds (21.5 kg) of lunar rocks to bring back to Earth. The Columbia landed in the Pacific Ocean with all three astronauts on July 24, 1969. There was much national pride and excitement at our accomplishment.

President Kennedy's goal to put a man on the moon brought many challenges in addition to actually getting there. Clothing had to be specially made in order to protect the astronauts. Tools, etc. had to be as light as possible while capable of doing the necessary jobs. Food was another challenge. The first astronauts had limited kinds of food available to them that consisted of "bite-sized cubes, freeze-dried foods, and semi-liquids squeezed from an aluminum toothpaste-like tube." Tang was one of the first special foods created for space travel. The list of available choices was continually expanding as the NASA food scientists discovered different and better ways to feed the astronauts. By the time Apollo 11 launched into space, Pillsbury as a food supplier had created Space Sticks. The long, chewy sticks, three sticks per day, came in three different flavors and slid through an airtight port located in helmets worn by the astronauts. It was not just the food that had to be created differently, but the packaging had to preserve the food while being light-weight and easy to dispose and capable of being used to help in the reconstitution and preparation of the food.

I am sad to see America's space program put in mothballs.