One Small Step for Man

The day is Yours, and Yours also the night;

You established the sun and the moon.

Psalm 74:16

Forty-three years ago last July 20, U.S. astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first person to set foot on the moon.  As he stepped down onto the surface, he quietly and somewhat haltingly uttered these famous words:  That's one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind."  His eloquent utterance was heard by 60 million television viewers and repeated all over the world. News anchor Walter Cronkite was visibly holding back tears.   

Commander Neil Armstrong, Pilot Michael Collins, Pilot Buzz Aldrin

 

Many other individuals would have spent the rest of their lives trading on their hero celebrity status, but not Neil Armstrong.  He was never quite comfortable with his celebrity status, and once told a gathering at the National Press Club:  "I am, and ever will be, a white-sock, pocket-protector, nerdy engineer."  Whenever he was asked what it was like to be the first man on the moon, he always shared the glory:  "I was certainly aware that this was the culmination of the work of 300,000 to 400,000 people over a decade."

Neil Armstrong died today at the age of 82, following "complications from cardiovascular procedures."  He will always be remembered as the Navy jet fighter pilot who flew 78 combat missions during the Korean War, the pilot who logged 1,000+ hours as a test pilot of some of the fastest and most dangerous aircraft, the civilian astronaut who commanded Apollo 11 - the first manned flight to land on the moon, and the first man to step on the moon's surface.  We say a prayer for the family who are saying goodbye, not to a national hero, but to a dearly loved member of their family.  I wish them comfort and peace.

 

Factual information from the Los Angeles Times Obituary, August 25, 2012