The Man From Wapakoneta

The Washington Dispatch ^ | Jul 17, 2003 | Christopher G. Adamo

[walford]

It was a time when America desperately needed heroes. As the institutions and beliefs that formed the heritage of the nation were being systematically dismantled by counterculture revolutionaries, those who held such things in high regard fervently sought for inspiring reminders of America’s greatness. But all the pop culture of the late 1960’s had to offer in response were its own icons of social collapse, as epitomized by Bob Dylan and Abby Hoffman. The flag was routinely being publicly desecrated, and contempt shown towards every building block of the American establishment. Nihilism and anti-Americanism appeared to be winning the day.

But in the midst of social upheaval, a man came forward and stepped right into the eye of that storm. Wapakoneta Ohio’s most famous son, Neil Armstrong, accepted the challenge to pick up and carry the nation’s tattered flag. And carry it he did, as it had never been carried before, across a quarter million miles of space to a place called Mare Tranquillitatis, “The Sea of Tranquility”, on the surface of the moon...

... Unlike so many among the ensuing “boomer” generation, Armstrong was never prone to self-absorption, regarding his role as nothing other than a man doing the job he had trained to do. With the mission ended, the parades passed by, and the spotlights faded, he seemed altogether happy to return to relative obscurity, only making the news as the result of a severe hand injury incurred several years later.

But Neil Armstrong did much more than merely perform his official duties with great skill and expertise. He gave Americans reason to cheer the hope and potential of their country during a period when so many others were seeking to criticize and degrade both its past and its future.

[walford]

I'm lucky enough to be old enough to remember that day [I was a kid, though]. That was a time when 'Made in the USA' meant the very best [a BMW was just another little foreign piece of junk when Apollo 11 landed]. The seeds of self-doubt were germinating back then as well. What happened to us? We can't go back, but is there way to move forward into a positive America again? One thing that gives me hope is the renewed respect for those who serve in uniform at home and abroad [police, fire, military].

[hellinahandcart]

I'm lucky enough to remember the days when people would routinely post the complete text of non-Washington Post/ LA Times articles.

[walford]

"I'm lucky enough to remember the days when people would routinely post the complete text of non-Washington Post/ LA Times articles."


So the issue of excerpting is more important than the subject matter...

[hellinahandcart]

Yes, even though I lived in Ohio when Neil Armstrong walked on the moon.

[LadyDoc]

bump

[foreverfree]

I'm lucky enough to remember the days when people would routinely post the complete text of non-Washington Post/ LA Times articles.

Don't forget non-Chicago Tribune/Baltimore Sun articles...

Doesn't the ban apply to ALL publications in the Tribune Co. family (the LAT is one of them) as well as the ComPost Company (which includes Newsweek)?

Back to the topic. I was 7 going on 8 in July of '69. I watched the landing with my recently divorced mom in our apartment in Boothwyn, PA. We had NBC on. NBC had one of those LM models simulating the descent of the Eagle, since there wasn't a camera already on the moon. I didn't pay attention when the alarm went off that they were low on landing fuel. But when they touched down, NBC flashed a graphic, "WE'RE ON THE MOON!"

I missed the actual moonwalk. It was too darn late Eastern time. I was probably in bed. I had day camp the next day.

I did watch the Apollo 14 moonwalk live on TV at school 18 months later. Don't remember seeing Alan Shepard play golf on the moon but I'll take historian's (and FReepers') word for it.

foreverfree

[hellinahandcart]

Yes, there's a link in the "Important Legal Notice" box on the homepage that takes you to the whole list.

BTW, my mother didn't just LET us stay up for the moonwalk, she made us stay up. Said we had to see it. I love my Mom...