When I was in the sixth grade, a couple of years after the Apollo 11 mission, my teacher told us one day that he really admired Neil Armstrong, because Armstrong had never taken advantage of his historic feat to cash in and trade in his name for the sake of fame and fortune. And mind you, that was in 1972.
Given forty more years to take advantage of his amazing feat, Armstrong simply went back to his life, and from all accounts enjoyed it - never for a moment thinking that he was missing out on something. And that above all else is probably the best testament to his greatness.
The astronauts who captured the nation's imagination were a rare breed - and so were the technicians and the rocket scientists who guided them to their destinations. And Armstrong may have been unique in that he held both qualities.
All I know is that anyone who was alive and old enough to know what was happening on the evening of July 20, 1969 is never going to forget the name Neil Armstrong.
R.I.P.
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