"The Eagle has landed'

It was 45 years ago today that Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first men on the moon.  Here's the landing as it happened...

First Men on the Moon

I remember this SO well.....we had just come home from a camping trip in the mountains (When I was living in California) and my Daddy and I were in the backyard setting up the tent to clean out better in order to store away....my brother hollered out the door, "They're 'bout to land!" and we dropped everything and went inside to watch!   

Do you remember the first step?

Apollo 11 was a rousing success, but it was by no means a sure thing.  Buzz Aldrin himself said he figured he only had about a 60% chance of coming back alive. There is, in the National Archives, a speech that President Nixon was prepared to give in the event that our astronauts were stranded on the moon:


Fate has ordained that the men who went to the moon to explore in peace will stay on the moon to rest in peace.

These brave men, Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin, know that there is no hope for their recovery. But they also know that there is hope for mankind in their sacrifice. These two men are laying down their lives in mankind’s most noble goal: the search for truth and understanding.

They will be mourned by their families and friends; they will be mourned by their nation; they will be mourned by the people of the world; they will be mourned by a Mother Earth that dared send two of her sons into the unknown.

In their exploration, they stirred the people of the world to feel as one: in their sacrifice, they bind more tightly the brotherhood of man.

In ancient days, men looked at stars and saw their heroes in the constellations. In modern times, we do much the same, but our heroes are epic men of flesh and blood.

Others will follow, and surely find their way home. Man’s search will not be denied. But these men were the first, and they will remain the foremost in our hearts.

For every human being who looks up at the moon in the nights to come will know that there is some corner of another world that is forever mankind.

Rob wrote:

Do you remember the first step?

Yes, I'm old......   

This must have been before i was born. Can't say i remember this.  

Yup, July 20, 1969! Rhonda, Dave and I might be the only ones here who remember it.   

Yup! Wasn't alive yet. My parents would remember this. LOL. Oh yeah cool!  

I wasn't born yet either, but I've learned about the event in school and heard about it in other places too. It's neat to think how many advancements have been for astronomy and visiting space since this! I recently read an article about a space telescope being designed that will be able to travel farther out then the Hubble Telescope.

I found this among some of my childhood belongings this morning.  Yes, yes, I misspelled "Neil."   

Now, wouldn't that be something.....Our own "Back to the Future" right here on the prairie....Can you just see Fife going back and Fifing himself??   

  Like I told Lisa... sure, I could spell "depressurizing," but I couldn't spell "Neil."   

Ha!  I somehow managed to forget that you'd mentioned this fact up above, Lisa.   I guess anyone old enough to remember the moon landing is bound to be subject to memory lapses.   

Watch it!   

I didn't mean YOU, Betty. Er, Rhoda. Er, Rhonda.   

  I did wonder.

I read your post - looked right at it - and then posted the same thing. *sigh* Oh boy oh boy.   

 

You know what they say... imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.   

When you get our age....."Imitation is the sincerest form of getting old!"   

Rob wrote:

You know what they say... imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.   

You just think you're so cute. There was a reason for that edit.