The "Walking On The Moon!, July 20, 1969: Part I" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Trying to remember what I was doing the day that Neil Armstrong walked on the moon.  It was Sunday July 20, 1969 that he gingerly descended from the spider-like lunar module the Eagle, with his hefty backpack and bulky space suit, and became the first human to every walk on the moon.  Where were you?  Were you even born at that time?  I had been married for a little over two years at the time and can still remember watching TV with my wife as he walked in what seemed like slow motion across the moon before sticking the United Stated flag into the surface of the moon for all to see.  I do remember reading about some of the events that took place in Lancaster, Pennsylvania during the walk on the moon.  It was reported that every TV in St. Joseph's Hospital in Lancaster was tuned to the walk.  

Apollo 11 Pilot Michael Collins.  Led the way to the moon!

A local woodworker made a solid walnut box with an inlay that depicted the six phases of the moon and mailed it to President Nixon to keep moon debris in it.  Whether the President ever got it was not known.  At the local Host Town Motel on Keller Ave., they stopped the showing of a Bridget Bardot movie on their TV channel so all visitors at the motel could watch the walk on the moon.  After Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin's first steps, they continued the movie.  One local lady didn't believe it really happened.  She said it was contrary to God's will and the moon was not meant to be explored since the scriptures say that man is to inhabit Earth and God is to inhabit the heavens.  Those who worked for the city of Lancaster had Monday off to celebrate. It was also reported that the Saturn V Rocket was almost twice the size of Lancaster's Griest Building, the tallest building in downtown Lancaster.  

Neil Armstrong 

The Griest building stands 187 feet, 8 inches tall while the Saturn was 363 feet in height.  The more I read about the landing 50 years ago, the more my memory was able to recall facts from that special day.  Do you remember that there were three astronauts aboard Apollo 11; Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins.  At times people forget about Collins.  Did you know that there were nine astronauts who died before the flight of the Apollo 11.  There were also 20 flights into space before Apollo 11 lifted off.  It took 195 hours, 18 minutes and 35 seconds to complete the mission to the moon.  

Buzz Aldrin saluting the U.S.A. flag on the moon.

The total distance to the moon and back in miles was 953,054.  To do that in under 200 hours meant they were really flying (pun intended).  It was said that 600 Million people viewed the moon walk and the final bit of information is that it cost the citizens of the United States $25.4 billion to send three astronauts to the moon so they could walk on it.  

The front page of the Lancaster New Era.

There are still some people who don't believe anyone really walked on the moon.  They believe it was all a Hollywood production that was done to fool the public.  5-10% of Americans believed it was all staged; 12% of Britons and 20% of Italians don't believe we landed on the moon; 55% of Russians do not believe that we landed men on the moon.  So, after 50 years, how do you feel.  Did it really happen?  What did they ever do with the pieces of moon that they were said to have returned to earth with during the mission?  How did the astronauts feel after walking on the moon.  Do you ever look at the moon and think that the United States actually had two of our citizens step foot on it?  Do you take pride in our country for being the first to walk on the moon?  I still have the front page of the paper showing that famous day, June 20, 1969 when Buzz Aldrin stood next to the U.S. flag on the moon, saluting it.  And...I actually believe it happened!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.