Sunday Times 2
‘Wink at the moon’
Neil Armstrong’s wife and granddaughter were joined by hundreds of mourners who gathered to pay tribute to Neil Armstrong, the first man on the moon, at his funeral yesterday.
Neil Armstrong was all smiles after spending more than two hours on the moons surface in 1969 (AFP)
He was honoured as a humble hero who saw himself as a team player and never capitalized on his celebrity. The private service at the Camargo Club in Cincinnati was attended by fellow space pioneers, including his two crew mates on the historic Apollo 11 mission, Buzz Edwin Aldrin and Michael Collins.
One of Armstrong’s 10 grandchildren, Piper Van Wagenen, was among the family and friends to give heartfelt readings in his memory.
‘You’ll never get a hero, in my view, like Neil Armstrong,’ said Apollo 8 astronaut Bill Anders, who praised Armstrong after the service for his wisdom and humility in the way he handled becoming a global icon. ‘It’s going to be hard to top.’
‘America has truly lost a legend,’ said Eugene Cernan, an Apollo astronaut who is the last man to have walked on the moon.
Sen. Rob Portman, an Ohio Republican, eulogized Armstrong “as a reluctant hero” and said afterward the service was a mix of emotion and humor, with Armstrong’s two sons talking about him as a father and grandfather.
‘He touched the lives of so many,’ Portman said.’He was the embodiment of everything this nation is all about,’ said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. Armstrong, he said, had a courageous drive for exploration while being an ‘incredibly humble’ man who probably wouldn’t have wanted all the attention of Friday’s service.
It included a Navy ceremonial guard, a bagpiper corps and songs including ‘When the Saints Go Marching In.’ Four Navy fighter planes flew over at the end of the service, one flying upward in tribute to Armstrong, a former Navy pilot who flew combat missions in Korea.
Neil Armstrong in Washington DC, September 22, 2011 (Reuters)
Raised in Wapakoneta, Ohio, Armstrong developed an early love for aviation.He commanded the Gemini 8 mission in 1966 and Apollo 11′s historic moon landing on July 20, 1969. As a worldwide audience watched on TV, Armstrong took the step on the lunar surface he called ‘one giant leap for mankind.’
Earlier Friday, Cernan and Apollo 13 commander James Lovell spoke at a Cincinnati hospital to help launch a children’s health fund in Armstrong’s memory.Cernan and Lovell recounted visiting U.S troops in Iraq and Afghanistan with Armstrong, saying he always had an inspirational impact when meeting troops, schoolchildren and other admirers around the world.
Lovell said Armstrong was ‘a great American’ who never capitalized on his celebrity and just ‘wanted to be a team player.’
While Armstrong had said any of the astronauts could have been the first to walk on the moon, Lovell and Cernan said Armstrong was the right choice because of the way he handled suddenly becoming an icon.
‘There’s nobody that I know of that could have accepted the challenge and responsibility that came with being that with more dignity than Neil Armstrong,’ Cernan said.Lovell and Cernan said that they had visited Armstrong two months ago in his home in suburban Indian Hill, and that he cooked breakfast for them – and burned the eggs.
‘Neil Armstrong was probably one of the most human guys I’ve ever known in my life,’ Cernan said.
In a statement NASA Administrator Charles Bolden called Armstrong ‘a pioneering American, an explorer, a patriot and an individual who, with “one small step”, achieved an impossible dream.’
‘His remarkable achievements will be forever remembered, and his grace and humility will always be admired,’ he continued.
‘As we take the next giant leap forward in human exploration of our vast universe, we stand on the shoulders of this brave, reluctant hero.
‘Neil Armstrong’s first step on the moon paved the way for others to be the “first” to step foot on another planet. We have an obligation to carry on this uniquely American legacy.’A grateful nation offers praise and salutes a humble servant who answered the call and dared to dream.’
Armstrong’s family has suggested memorial contributions to two scholarship funds in his name or to the Neil Armstrong New Frontiers Initiative at Cincinnati Children’s. After his space career, Armstrong returned to Ohio, teaching aerospace engineering at the University of Cincinnati and generally avoiding public view for most of the rest of his life.
In announcing his death, Armstrong’s family requested that the public honor his example of service, accomplishment and modesty, adding “the next time you walk outside on a clear night and see the moon smiling down at you, think of Neil Armstrong and give him a wink.”
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© Daily Mail, London
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