There's only a few things which bring tears to my eyes, above them all is seeing the footage of Neil climbing down the ladder, and uttering those words. It gets me every time without fail.
The sheer enormity, bravery, courage, and the willingness to do what no other man had done before, with the technological resources of the time, in my mind leads me to believe that what he and his crew accomplished was the greatest moment of triumph for man throughout all of human history.
I remember watching the Apollo 11 launch from the Forth grade classroom and then to watch the Moonwalk live a few days later....not a sound as we all saw Commander Neil Armstrong step down onto the Lunar surface and utter those imortal words...To witness such an awesome and historical event goes beyond words....we then said a prayer for their safe return.
A sad loss for humanity...
RIP Neil Armstrong..
Like astro_nutt, I watched the moon landing from the class room - Year 11 rather than 4th grade. The fascination it engendered in me with space has never left.
Quote:
‘For those who may ask what they can do to honour Neil, we have a simple request. Honour his example of service, accomplishment and modesty, and the next time you walk outside on a clear night and see the moon smiling down at you, think of Neil Armstrong and give him a wink.’
Armstrong’s family, announcing his death in a written statement.
And one of my favourite quotes attributed to Neil: "I am, and ever will be, a white-socks, pocket-protector, nerdy engineer, born under the second law of thermodynamics..."
I am very saddened by Neil's passing.
He is and will always be my Hero. Commander Armstrong I will salute you tonight looking up to our friendly Moon.
RIP Neil
The death of this true American hero - (a word which has been very much overused and cheapened these days) marked the start of a very sad day for me. Like many others I remember my primary school class being led into the school library to watch a very grainy image on the one and only TV we had. The inspiration of the US space program was to a large extent responsible for my lifelong interest in astronomy.
I wonder how many others share a deeper regret with this news - as a teenager I, perhaps along with Neil himself, believed we would next see man walk on Mars. Now sadly I have abandoned the hope I will see this in my lifetime.
A sad day. I remember going home from grade 6 at Toowoomba East to watch on a b&w tv at a friend's place. We were the last back to school because we just kept watching, whereas most returned to school after the landing itself.
Neil Armstrong was a true hero and inspiration, and my memories of him stepping down ladder and saying those words, "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind" linger in my mind, along with the images of him and Buzz Aldrin bouncing on the moon.
I can only repeat many of the thoughts preceding me on the passing Neil. As tragic and as shocking this news is to us all, we know in our hearts that our heroes of the space age will not live forever. I'd imagine Neil would be slightly embarrassed yet humbled at all the tributes and accolades bestowed upon him at this time.
The sky, and in particular the Moon, becomes even more of a special place as each of our space pioneers pass on.
Sad loss to the human race , RIP .
