I can’t imagine Neil Armstrong wanting a state funeral. He’s a man who repeatedly shunned the lime-light, and resisted opportunities to cash in on his deeds. Sadly, I can just as easily envision his Apollo 11 crew mate, Buzz Aldrin, relishing an opportunity for a state funeral. While Brigadier General Aldrin has been a staunch supporter of the space program, he’s also the guy who “retired” to Beverly Hills, and has lent his name to a variety of projects and schemes, including a rap record that was tied into space exploration.
Unfortunately for Buzz, #2 on the moon doesn’t entitle one to a state funeral.
If obama did decree a state funeral then what about buzz? It wouldn’t be fair. Waah. Waah. After all isn’t buzz aldrin as important as neil armstrong. And then what about the ground control dudes. Aren’t they important too?
I mean Armstrong didn’t do that. Someone else made that happen. (Sarcasm)
He stopped autographing things in 1974 when he realized such items were fetching good money. He was humble and didn’t want to ‘commercialize’ the accomplishment. As such, I would imagine his signature is quite valuable. There’s film/video of him politely refusing to autograph fan’s items.