OK, so it isn't hot rod related, but I know a bunch of you would be interested in this little thing. Neil Armstrong and Gene Cernan, the first and last men on the moon, Captain Jim Lovell, Commander of Apollo 13, Bob Gilliland, the first man to ever fly the SR-71 Blackbird, and General Steve Ritchie, the last Air Force Ace, gave a talk Sunday about a trip to see the troops in Germany and the Mid-East. Pretty amazing guys at a pretty amazing place, the Intrepid in New York City. Unfortunately, due to the ****ty weather in the NE, they weren't able to land on Saturday for the original engagement, and so Jim Lovell and Gene Cernan, weren't able to attend. However, the remaining folks spoke about there days as test pilots of the SR-71 Blackbird, shooting down 5 Mig 21s over Vietnam. While Mr. Armstrong didn't speak of landing on the moon (he is very private, so this was a rare opportunity to even SEE him) he did speak about how important it is to support our guys in the wars that they are in, whether you agree with the wars themselves or not. I thought he was pretty powerful and he certainly made an impression on the people there, notably the 500 or so kids in the audience. Anyway, I will probably get shuttered, but thought you guys would like to see these guys. Sorry if this bugs anyone, as they are real heros to me. In the picture (from left) Neil Armstrong, General Steve Ritchie, and Bob Gilliland.
I've thought that it was really odd over the last few years, with the 40th anniversary of Apollo 11 and all that going on, that Neil wouldn't appear on ANY of the TV specials or do***entaries that were made. It's good to see him back involved with some of the other astronauts.
My favorite Astronaut is Buzz Aldrin. Especially after he decked that Moon Landing denier for asking him what it is like to live a lie.... Apollo 11 was the zenith of societal evolution on this planet. It's been steady downhill since then.
That's awesome. I was lucky enough to meet Gen Ritchie years ago at Randolph AFB. He gave a great speech and told amazing stories. To have these guys together sharing their experiences is really cool.
I remember it also. I flew in an S2E Tracker ASW aircraft off the USS Randolph. I was operating radar monitoring Russian ships off the coast of FL during an Apollo launch, not a landing mission this was in 67 or 68. Later watched the landing on TV. Then when I worked at Lehigh University I actually worked with some of the lunar particles ***isting the geologists that were ****yzing them. It seemed pretty cool at the time! Bill
Moon landings are what happen when you get some guys with a hot rodder mentality playing around with military rocket parts and then somebody gives them a blank check and says "okay, boys, make it happen."
The only time I have personally seen Neil Armstrong was at the Wright Brothers 100th Anniversay celebration at Kitty Hawk in '03. It was simply amazing to be in the presence of him and so many other astronauts....and Chuck Yeager.
Cool stuff. I've met one of the space shuttle pilots, and I know a guy who was a U-2 and SR-71 pilot - those kinds of people have the 'right stuff' for sure.
For what it is worth, I was on the Apollo engineering team from '65 thru '69, it was a great privilage and honor to be a part of one of the greatest accomplishments of modern man. It will always hold a special place in my memories.
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