Neil Armstrong

Neil Armstrong, born and raised in Wapakoneta, commanded Apollo 11 to the moon with fellow astronauts “Buzz” Aldrin and Michael Collins and the lunar module “Eagle.” In July 1969, Armstrong and Aldrin landed the Eagle in the Sea of Tranquility, where Armstrong became the first person to step onto the moon, taking the “giant leap for mankind.” He described the surface as powdery and pocked with craters, with a warm tan color when looking away from the sun and a darker gray when looking across it, and called it “a stark and strangely different place” that “looked friendly to me, and it proved to be friendly.” Armstrong and Aldrin left on the lunar surface a disc bearing messages from 75 nations, various medals from Soviet cosmonauts, and a symbol of an eagle carrying an olive branch. The lower part of the Eagle, the American flag, and their footprints remain there, preserved by the moon’s lack of water and wind.

Dayton, Ohio · United States