Since my 5th grade teacher, Mrs Thelma Garton, lived on a ranch, she had an apartment in town about two blocks from school. She took us to to her apartment where she had a TV so we could watch Alan Shepard become the first American into space on May 5, 1961, which just happened to be my 11th birthday.
We knew the names of all seven Mercury program astronauts, and parts of their bios. Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper, John Glenn, "Gus" Grissom, Walter Schirra, Alan Shepard, and "Deke" Slayton. They were pioneers and are some of the real heros for our generation.
Bump!