Neil Armstrong: One Of America's Hero

Buzz Aldrin entered the U.S Air Force in 1951 where he scored in the top of his class in flight school and began fighter training later that year. He later joined the 51st Fighter Wing where he flew F-86 Sabre jets in 66 combat missions in Korea. His wing of the Air Force was responsible for the enemy KIA record during combat where his group killed 61 enemy MiG’s and grounded 57 others in one month of combat. Aldrin himself shot down two MiG’s and was decorated with the Distinguished Flying Cross for his service during the war (Buzz Aldrin). In 1953 he returned home and attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 1963, he was selected by NASA to be part of the third group of men to attempt pioneer space flight. In 1966, he was selected to the Gemini 12 crew. During this mission, Aldrin went on a 5 hour spacewalk. The longest and most successful spacewalk at that time. He was later selected for the backup crew for the Apollo 8 mission but never went up with the craft. But very soon after he was chosen to be part of the Apollo 11 mission with Neil Armstrong. They spent a total of 21 hours on the lunar surface, and returned of 46 pounds of moon rocks. The walk was televised and around 600 million people watched it back home on Earth. This became the largest television audience in history. He returned and later retired in 1972. He wrote an autobiography where he admitted that when he came home he suffered with alcohol and depression problems. To counter this he went back to NASA and helped try to design a spacecraft to take humans to Mars and founded a few

“He was the recipient of many special honors, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom; the Congressional Gold Medal; the Congressional Space Medal of Honor; the Explorers Club Medal; the Robert H. Goddard Memorial Trophy; the NASA Distinguished Service Medal; the Harmon International Aviation Trophy; the Royal Geographic Society 's Gold Medal; the Federation Aeronautique Internationale 's Gold Space Medal; the American Astronautical Society Flight Achievement Award; the Robert J. Collier Trophy; the AIAA Astronautics Award; the Octave Chanute Award; and the John J. Montgomery Award”.(NASA)

Many people have dreamt going to the moon, but Neil Armstrong never thought he would. Going to the moon would be a great accomplishment

Neil Armstrong’s love for anything that could fly in the air was clearly evident. Armstrong achieved things that most people could only dream of, and did them in a calm and humble way. Although Neil Armstrong is recognized as the first man to ever set foot on the moon, he would spend the rest of his life setting many goals for the space and aviation programs. These goals would certainly show the greatness of mankind and how far we have come. Armstrong’s achievements proved to be a bright spot at the end of the difficult decade of the 1960’s during which American suffered the murder of a president, the Vietnam War, and a lot violence.

His greatest accomplishment was being the first human to walk on the moon. He also changed the way people think about themselves as a whole. If not for Armstrong’s courage, many people would have given up on the thought of space travel. He turned what was once science fiction into reality. Neil Armstrong’s bravery and courage led to his amazing contributions to space travel and NASA that has truly changed the world.

Neil Armstrong utilized logic, duty, and responsibility better than most men. Hanson recounts, “Armstrong’s peers respected Neil’s abilities as a pilot, engineer, and astronaut, admired his intelligence, and they wondered at his unique personality traits.” (227). Armstrong was one of the men solely responsible for beating Russia to the moon. His leadership guided the crew; his quick thinking saved missions and lives.

For a few years it has been a NASA goal to send a man up to the moon and it came true in the year 1961 when the President Of The United States Of America, John F Kennedy (1961) The president and NASA both had confidence in sending men to the moon, and on July 16th, 1969 the dream of many people including the president came true. Neil Armstrong, Edwin ALdrin, and Michael Collins departed on the “ Apollo 11” for a trip to the moon. They arrived on the moon July 20th where Neil Armstrong said “ that's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.” a famous line. Many people were amazed when Neil Armstrong and the other astronauts arrived back to earth. When they arrived at the moon Collins stayed in the Apollo 11 managing the command mule. The crew traveled 240,000 miles to the moon and in 76 hours. ABC, NBC and CBS spent between $11- $12 million dollars on coverage for the apollo 11. An estimated 530 million people watched Armstrongs televised image and heard his voice while he was on the moon.

I was born in Ohio, in 1930. I was the first man on the moon. I am Neil Armstrong. I was born In Auglaize County, Ohio in 1930. As a kid I was intrigued by model airplanes.I loved to build model airplanes.I have been interested in airplanes since I was six. For being a child I built model airplanes out of balsa wood. I built a wind tunnel as a kid to which was really cool. Even at the age of 15 I was taking flying lessons.I had saved money from working at a drugstore. I had to work hard to learn how to fly, and flying is amazing. It was beautiful looking down from such a high place. I loved to fly. I went to Purdue University before I dropped out to serve. I was apart of the Air Force. I had to do a lot of life or death things in the Air force while flying a plane. I had not married my wife until I got back.

One of NASA’s biggest mission was Apollo 11 and the objective was to land on the moon. The crew consisted of Neil Armstrong the commander, Edwin E. Aldrin Jr. the Lunar Module Pilot, and Michael Collins the Command Module Pilot. The launch was scheduled to be on July 16, 1969 at nine o’clock in the morning. About four days later the inspirational quote “...one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” said by Neil Armstrong, was the first words spoken on the surface of the moon. About 600 million people from all over the world tuned in to watch the moon landing and watch as Armstrong took the first steps on the moon. They spent only one day on the moon, however in that one day they achieved something that no other man has done. They landed in the pacific ocean on July 24 and were greeted as heroes. Although the mission was eight days long it inspired many other mission by NASA.

Neil Armstrong is a pilot and an astronaut that changed space exploration. “I can honestly say - and it's a big surprise to me - that I have never had a dream about being on the moon” (Neil Armstrong). Neil Armstrong made history when he landed on the moon. Neil Armstrong won many awards when he was a pilot, and astronaut. Neil Armstrong is a hero because, he was a pilot, he was the first human on the moon and is the first civilian in space.

When Neil was young he made model airplane’s in his basement he was 15 when he got his first close up look at the moon through telescope in garage. April 18 1962 nasa said they were goanna pick nine men to be the nest nasa team… June nasa picked the names of the nine man that were chosen for the next phase of space.

Proudly placing the American flag into the ground, Neil Armstrong proclaimed “that’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” as he took his first steps becoming the first American to walk on the moon. That is, the secret film set depicting the moon in the hidden and unknown Area 51, deeply hidden in Nevada. Famed astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin along with ten other American astronauts never actually landed on or took steps on the moon. Furthermore, the six Apollo missions between 1969 and 1972 were faked by the deceitful government operation, NASA. The captivating footage of the first steps millions of Americans watched from their home television sets was merely another space movie.

Christopher Columbus (Italian: Cristoforo Colombo) is considered, by popular belief in the United States of America, to be the “Father of the Americas”. Columbus was not the first European to reach mainland in the Western Hemisphere, but his efforts did lay the path to settlement of the “New World”. Like Christopher Columbus, Neil Armstrong was a pioneer in his own right; he is the “Father of Space”. Christopher Columbus and Neil Armstrong were obviously two very different people based on the times in which each of the men lived; what was not different, were the characteristics and qualities that both men shared.

During his lifetime, Armstrong contributed his services to America as a pilot and an astronaut. “Astronaut Neil Armstrong developed a fascination with flight at an early age and earned his student pilot's license when he was 16.” (“Neil Armstrong Biography”). A couple years later, he attended Purdue University and received a scholarship that gave him the opportunity to train as a pilot in the Navy. Not only was he a part of the U.S navy, he served his country in the Korean war. After leaving the service and following his steps that would lead to his future career, he joined NASA as a test pilot and aeronautical engineer. During this time, he flew over twenty-four hundred hours and two hundred aircrafts including the fastest aircraft ever built, X-15. “That same year, Armstrong joined the astronaut program. He and his family moved to Houston, Texas, and Armstrong served as the command pilot for his first mission, Gemini VIII.” (“Neil Armstrong Biography”). Serving as command pilot in Gemini VIII, with David Scott they were effectively competent of entering Earth's orbit and docking in space. Gemini VIII was one of two missions he was a part of and one of the few missions that dominated the subsequent mission to the moon. In addition, Neil Armstrong was an educator, passing down his fundamental knowledge from his generation to the next. “After leaving NASA, he joined the faculty of the University of Cincinnati as a professor of aerospace engineering.” (“Neil Armstrong Biography”). Hence, he continued to teach there for eight years trying to remain involved in his field. He taught engineering courses in aircraft design and experimental flight mechanics. (Reichhardt). By becoming a college professor, it demonstrated that he was not only interested in being known for a divine astronaut but in teaching others everything behind

It was at the height of the cold war when the two superpowers of the world, the United States of America and the USSR were in a deadlock. The war was on the brink of no return and it threatened to destroy the modern human way of life. When a competition of sorts sprung up between the two to see which country would be the first to successfully put a man on the moon, all focus was redirected to what is now known as the "space race." In the end, the race was won by the U.S. and Neil Armstrong became a household name all over the world.