A Golden Anniversary of a Golden Moment

July 20, 1969 was a day of great excitement and anticipation
for me, an eleven-year-old lad who like so many other children
enjoyed summer and all the activities of the warm season. But
on this unique day I remained indoors glued to the television,
for this was the day in which American astronauts were to
become the first humans to step out onto a different planet
--- taking that "One small step for man, one giant step for
mankind" --- walking on the Earth's moon, the overriding
goal of the flight of Apollo 11.

I had enjoyed the Space/Science Fiction TV show Star Trek
along with books and comics pertaining to that genre, but all
that was relative "kid stuff" compared to astronauts, OUR
astronauts, preparing to actually take a stroll on a planet other
than our Earth. We would not only be achieving a feat that
many had once considered an impossibility, but we would be
beating our greatest rival and blood enemy the Soviet Union
to claim the accomplishment as our own. After all, it was the
Soviets who were the first to put a satellite up in space, and
they were the first to put people (and animals) in space as well.
National pride, along with the preservation of technological
superiority, were at stake. Even an eleven-year-old boy in
a small Wisconsin town realized this.

When I saw Commander Neil Armstrong step out of the capsule
which carried the three astronauts to the moon, I felt a feeling
that to this day I cannot clearly describe, except to say that I
was immensely proud of my country, of NASA, and of our trio
of courageous astronauts who made the perilous trip. Buzz Aldrin
followed Armstrong, and Armstrong took a photograph of his
crew mate that also had Armstrong's own image in the picture,
thanks to the reflection of Armstrong on Aldrin's helmet visor.
Aldrin would then knock a golf ball about on the moon's rocky
surface, and a photograph was also taken of Armstrong's boot
print from his taking that historic step. I felt so thankful to be
an American, to be one of the "can do" people, as many from
other nations had called us over the years leading up to this
incredible moment. I felt such pride in being an American
from this triumph of courage and technological advancement
exhibited by my fellow Americans at NASA and in the military
(all three of the astronauts on Apollo 11 were in a branch of the
service). The crew of the magical flight were like supermen to me.
And I did some walking myself, walking on air from the emotions
coursing through my young body that day.

Now we are celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of that tremendous
adventure, and its victorious finish. Neil Armstrong passed away in
August of 2012, but he is remembered and saluted with his crew,
Lunar Module pilot Buzz Aldrin and command module pilot
Michael Collins for their stretching humanity's reach in this world
and the universe, to take hold of the new, the unknown, the mysterious,
and the exciting in the yearning to discover and learn about as
much of our surroundings as is humanly possible in the quest for
knowledge about our place in this boundless expanse that is our
universe --- and how we can utilize that knowledge for the good
of all. We are now discussing, with seriousness, traveling to Mars
to see what there is on that farther located planet in our solar system.
There is even talk of settling on that planet, as our forefathers had
settled the land that would become our country back when no one
was certain of what was over on the other side of our world.
And if we one day go there, and if we establish a community there,
it will be done by those among us who stand on the shoulders of
the Apollo 11 astronauts, who stood on the shoulders of the previous
astronauts who went into space to orbit our planet, who in turn stood
on the shoulders of those who traveled to, explored, and settled many
of the far-reaching lands of our world through the centuries. For this
is the makeup of humans; the insatiable curiosity about what all
is around us, and the burning desire to know all about what is
on Earth and in the sky. And in the American space program's
achievements to this end, we Americans further cement our reputation
as the "can do" people.




MEM