Neil Armstrong, the Quiet Hero

Tim Bean

8/26/2012

I would be remiss if I didn’t take a moment to acknowledge the passing of Neil Armstrong, an American Hero.

A Real American Hero

Yesterday we lost an American hero in Astronaut and first man on the moon, Neil Armstrong.  I happened to be born at the tail end of the Apollo Moon missions, and as such that program, the astronauts, and NASA played a not so small part in my childhood.  The afterglow of those moon missions was still fresh in America at that time, and with it came the feeling and spirit that we, as a country, and even the human race, are capable of such tremendous endeavors that when one really thinks about it are still remarkable to this very day.  I think the fact that following the Apollo moon missions manned spaceflight has never been further than orbiting around Earth is testament to the remarkability of those lunar landings; and Neil Armstrong was the first.

With his famous quote, “This is one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”  You would think that anyone who could utter such a cleverly subtle way to encapsulate such a momentous occasion might be one to seek and stay in the spotlight.  Neil Armstrong wasn’t one of those people.  Mr. Armstrong was a quiet man, who described himself as a nerdy engineer.  Upon splash down of the tiny capsule called Columbia, Neil Armstrong could have seized upon his immediate popularity for power, money, and though he already earned prestige by walking on the moon, he could have gotten more, but he didn’t.  Instead Neil Armstrong accepted a teaching position at the University of Cincinnati, after serving briefly (1 year) in ARPA.  He never once sought accolades, nor attention for, his unique position in the history of mankind, and that is a rare and noble trait to have, one that makes someone even more of a hero in my mind, because it was never about him, and he knew it.  So today, I would like to say, Good Luck and God Speed Neil Armstrong, you will be missed.

“A great man will not trample upon a worm, nor sneak to an emperor.”  (Thomas Fuller)