We asked our readers for their memories of the night Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon. Here's a look at what some of them said.l
My memory was of a special time in my life- I was 19 years old and I was preparing for a very special time in my life. Every one was so excited about men landing and walking on the moon- I had another event I was excited about. As the big day of men landing on the moon got closer so did my special day. I still have the newspaper telling about men landing on moon, such exciting time. History was made that day. I remember watching on TV. My big adventure didn’t make TV, it was published in the newspaper later after I said “I do” on July 25th. As the 50th Anniversary of Men landing on the Moon arrives so will our 50th Anniversary arrive a few day later.
Deborah Abercrombie
I was in the Army and had just returned from South Korea. I was on leave so my wife and I went to the Kennedy Space Center and got to see the Saturn V rocket standing tall at launch pad 39A with the Apollo11 lunar landing module at the top getting readied for liftoff in a few days. From there we traveled to Geneva On The Lake in Ohio to visit with my brother and his family. It was there that everyone gathered around the tv to watch the live feed from the moon. Knowing that my wife and I had actually seen the rocket that got the astronauts up there made the watching of the moon landing that mush more memorable.
Tom Sauter
I was in the Navy on board the USS Ozark during the summer of 1969 stationed in Charleston, SC. The Ozark was selected for the recovery mission because the Ozark had a huge crane that was capable of lifting the capsule and loading it aboard the ship.
A Navy UDT team was also aboard the ship to go into the water to attach a flotation device to keep the capsule from sinking.
The ship was sent to the south Atlantic to Rio, Brazil. It was a long trip. We went into port in Rio for refueling and some time to go ashore. We had time for some R&R and visited the Christ the Redeemer Statute high on a mountain above Rio. We went on a worn out school bus from the US. It made the trip a bit exciting because of the poor condition of the bus. I took pictures as it offered a grand view of Rio from such a high altitude.
After a few days the ship was dispatched to a location probably a hundred miles off Rio in case the module landed there. I asked the Apollo engineer what would happen if the module missed the primary landing zone in the Pacific and the secondary landing zone(where we were). The engineer said that was covered, so I pressed him some and he said the module would land in the Indian Ocean. I asked him who would recover the space module there. He didn't want to answer but I pressed him some more, and he muttered quietly to me, "the Russians".
I was surprised!!! The ship went to the assigned position and waited. The module landed where it was supposed to land in the Pacific and we returned to Charleston.
Bill Strickland
Originally from California and an employee at Space Division located in Downey, California my father was tasked with the Apollo program being an engineer and worked directly on the program. He has great stories and FACTS to answer those questions from people who do not believe Man Landed on the Moon. He can tell you exactly how they did it; however, its a lot of MATH so keep up. He can also relay about the prework planning to make it all happen.
As a child I attended open house at Space Division and sat in an apollo capsule, attended family night events at Disneyland and went on many camping trips with other engineers and their families in the High Sierra Mountains of California. They really were a bunch of pocket protector wearing Nerds, LOL! The campfire stories consisted of watching which satellite was going over next, so fun! We have many family slides and photos of those engineers, the campsite and FUN! To your benefit of interest my father is 83 and resides here in Hall County aka home of WDUN.
I am sure that you would find and interview with him most interesting. He still has many things such as his slide-rule, etc... He also worked on the Space Shuttle and so MUCH MORE and just before he retired designed laser technology for tactical weapons systems. You see this today in our military.
He has held top level security clearances as you may surmise and spoken to many top level officials. He speaks, reads and writes Russian (cold war) etc.. Certainly he has a resume only very few people in America have.
Stephanie Elder
I was stationed in Germany with the 335th signal corps. A group of us had gone down to Austria for the weekend. The city of Ensbrooke had TVs on in all the store fronts, with the landing on. Dozens of people, including myself, were standing in front of these storefronts watching, at what I believe was about 2AM. I will never forget it.
Bob Bruce
Our family resided on the southside of Atlanta where my father owned a pharmacy. My mother was a teacher and was out of school for the summer as were the children. We planned to meet to watch the landing. I remember that since I entered the Atlanta school system that we had the opportunity to watch every space launch in the school auditorium. Count down always highlighted the event. But the 1969 launch was different. My family and a friend of my brother watched quietly in anticipation. It was a mesmerizing experience. Your heart pounded, but we had never seen any of the launches that failed only the successes. So, we never had any doubt that this would not be the same. What excitement we all had - and then we started talking - was this really happening. Sometimes you just have the believe. I never doubted for a moment it was real. But I think some people did for a long time. Now in the twilight of my life I wish I had taken the time to see a launch in person. I am still amazed at what is happening. I love to watch the SpaceX launches on line. And, I no doubt seeing Americans on Mars soon. People need to follow what private enterprise is doing for our space program. A new beginning.
Alice Wilson Brock
I was six years old, with parents who were very strict about my bedtime. My father made a deal with me - if I went to bed early then he would wake me in time in time to watch the first steps onto the moon. I went to bed early, and he kept his promise. The event therefore has double the memories for me as I not only watched the moon walk but was allowed to be up, watching television, at an 'adult time' of night. LOL
Vicki Bentley
My family was on vacation in DAYTONA BEACH . I was 14 years old at the time. I was watching the launch on that old TV in the Hotel. As sone as it took off I ran outside. The rocket was already way up in the sky. The memory I have is how small the rocket looked compared to the flames from those massive Engines. Something I will never forget.
Mark Cain
I was 10 years old and living in Doraville, Ga. at the time. Dad took us to Crossroads Seafood in Atlanta to celebrate the historic day. That evening we all sat around our black and white console television watching the grainy live feed. Before turning in late that night, we all went out on our 2nd floor apartment balcony and looked up at the moon knowing that we we’re watching history being made!
I was only 4 years old, but it was a memorable time. I was staying at my grandparents house because my mother was in the hospital having just given birth to my 2nd baby brother.
Sandra Rudd
My memories of that day are a little faded but I do remember the long hours spent at my work console as a Communications Coordinator in the Range Control Building at Cape Canaveral.
I do remember having on a headset and a phone at each ear while doing my job of coordinating communications for all the support and tracking units for the Mission. I know in the moments leading up to the landing that it was very quiet in the room with no talking among ourselves. We all began to breathe again when they touched down but there was very little out loud celebration for we knew there were still many hours of work ahead of us that day. I did go home that day very proud of what was achieved!!
Julian Garrett
It is beyond words to describe the feeling of being able to watch the most historical event of mankind on live TV that night. That was before VCR's, so I set up my small 5" Sony B&W TV with a shroud to block light from hitting the screen, and set up a clock, calendar, picture of Neil Armstrong, and the TV Guide featuring the event. The picture on the TV screen is the moment Neil Armstrong's feet hit the surface of the moon. I still have that TV Guide, and more pictures of different events as the event progressed that night, but this picture is by far the most special to me, as Neil Armstrong was saying, "One small step for Man, One huge step for Mankind. Truer words were never spoken.
John Treat
