Neil Armstrong: The Reluctant Hero
A true american hero but Neil Armstrong has largely avoided the limelight since he stepped out on to the moon's surface and in to history.
Those immortal words voiced by Neil Armstrong as he became the first person ever to set foot on the Moon have now been firmly planted in history but, while there's plenty of information about the Apollo 11 conquest of the Moon to see and read, there's very much less to learn about Armstrong himself. Armstrong has apparently opted deliberately not to cash in on the fame the moon race and his bravery gave him. So could it be that Armstrong himself, now approaching 80 years old, simply thinks he doesn't deserve the attention?
Before joing the Apollo programme, Armstrong had a successful test pilot career - flying the iconic X-15 for example - but it was the Apollo 11 mission mde him a global name in every household. The Apollo 11 Moon landing was the ultimate prize in the cold war space race. The largest worldwide TV audience ever at the time watched incredulously as the U.S. Flag was planted and President Nixon offered his congratulations in a live phone call.
When the astronauts returned, a brief period of quarantine was followed by a NASA sponsored world tour and Armstrong played his part. However there was always a sense that Armstrong was doing his duty rather than milking any applause. The few interviews given at that time suggest he always wanted to focus on the events and reality rather than talk about his emotions and personal thoughts. Since those days he has given very few interviews. He retired from NASA in 1971 to take up a teaching career.
As the years have passed by, and the moon landing became celebrated more as history than a 'win', Armstrong took an ever more retiring back seat away from the public spotlight. He actively discouraged the memorabilia trade surrounding his life and began refusing autographs. He barely brpke cover to feed the media's appetite for the 40th Anniversary in 2009. Contrast that with moon walking colleague Buzz Aldrin who has partnered with Snoop Dogg and Quincy Jones to produce a rap song!
To speculate about a man's feelings is invariably difficult but having looked back over the past 40 years with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight I've built up a picture of a relatively shy and retiring person in my mind. Nevertheless he has always remained firmly in control of his own destiny since 1969 and deliberately minimized his exposure to the media. I can't believe the experiences gained during his career as a test pilot and astronaut didn't shape the character he has become. Cheating death more than once, standing on the moon's surface and watching the Earth nearly a quarter of a million miles away must have had an impact. He's turned away many chances to earn millions and deliberately opted for a 'quieter life'.
For me, Armstrong is a rare, if somewhat reluctant, genuine hero of my lifetime.
20.07.2010. 14:12
