AB: |
Alan Bean |
AC: |
Andrew Chaikin |
AF: |
Arthur Frame |
ALSJ: |
Apollo Lunar Surface Journal |
ALSK: |
Alma Lou Shaw-Kuffner |
ATEOS: |
At the Edge of Space (Thompson) |
BA: |
Buzz Aldrin |
BAP: |
Bruce A. Peterson |
BEC: |
Bruce E. Clingan |
BG: |
Bob Gustafson |
BJC: |
Bruce J. Clingan |
BL: |
Betty Love |
CCK: |
Christopher C. Kraft Jr. |
CDF: |
Charles D. Friedlander Jr. |
CE: |
Cincinnati Enquirer |
CKA: |
Carol Knight Armstrong |
CP: |
Cincinnati Post |
CPD: |
Cleveland Plain Dealer |
CSM: |
Charles S. Mechem |
CTF: |
Carrying the Fire (Collins) |
DAA: |
Dean Alan Armstrong |
DAG: |
Donald A. Gardner |
DJH: |
Dora Jane Hamblin |
DS: |
Dudley Schuler |
DSS: |
Donald S. Stephenson |
E: |
Epigram |
EC: |
Eugene Cernan |
EFK: |
Eugene F. Kranz |
EMB: |
Ernest M. Beauchamp |
FB: |
Frank Borman |
FOM: |
First on the Moon (Gene Farmer and Dora Jane Hamblin) |
GER: |
George E. “Ernie” Russell |
GJM: |
Gene J. Matranga |
GLW: |
Gene L. Waltman |
Grace Walker-Wiesmann |
|
HAG: |
Herbert A. Graham |
HCS: |
Harold C. Schwan |
HG: |
Herschel Gott |
HSC: |
Harry S. Combs |
JAH: |
June Armstrong Hoffman |
JBB: |
John “Bud” Blackford |
JEL: |
James E. Lovell |
JG: |
John Glenn Jr. |
JGM: |
John G. McTigue |
JM: |
John Moore |
JSA: |
Janet Shearon Armstrong |
JZ: |
Jacob Zint |
KCK: |
Ken C. Kramer |
KID: |
Kenneth I. Danneberg |
KKS: |
K. K. “Kotcho” Solacoff |
L: |
Life magazine |
LBJ: |
Lyndon Baines Johnson |
LN: |
Lima News (Ohio) |
MC: |
Michael Collins |
MOT: |
Milton O. Thompson |
NAA: |
Neil Alden Armstrong |
NK: |
Ned Keiber |
NM: |
Norman Mailer |
NO: |
The National Observer |
NPRC: |
National Personnel Records Center (St. Louis, MO) |
NYT: |
New York Times |
OFM: |
Of a Fire on the Moon (Mailer) |
PFB: |
Paul F. Bikle |
PJK: |
Peter J. Karnoski |
RED: |
Richard E. Day |
RFG: |
Richard F. Gordon Jr. |
RJB: |
Roger J. Barnicki |
RMW: |
Robert M. White |
RTE: |
Return to Earth (Aldrin) |
SA&DB: |
Stephen Ambrose and Douglas Brinkley (Profiles of Armstrong, Ambrose) |
SKA: |
Stephen K. Armstrong |
SMEL: |
St. Marys Evening Leader (Ohio) |
SPB: |
Stanley P. Butchart |
TB: |
Toledo Blade |
TLA: |
Time-Life Archives |
TS: |
Tom Stafford |
TT: |
Tom Thompson |
VEA: |
Viola Engel Armstrong |
VEAP: |
Viola Engel Armstrong Papers |
VAK: |
Vincent Aubrey Knudegaard |
William A. Anders |
|
WAB: |
William A. Bowers |
WAM: |
William A. Mackey |
WDN: |
Wapakoneta Daily News (Ohio) |
WHC: |
We Have Capture (Stafford, Cassutt) |
WHD: |
William H. Dana |
WJK: |
William J. “Pete” Knight |
WMS: |
Walter M. Schirra Jr. |
WOL: |
Wingless on Luna (Documents, NAA) |
Y&J: |
Chuck Yeager and Leo Janos |
I: E Joseph Campbell, Reflections on the Art of Living.
“missed the whole thing” BA quoted in Andrew Chaikin, A Man on the Moon, p. 227.
“numero uno spot” JSA to author, Park City, UT, Sept. 11, 2004 (morning), p. 27.
“anyone sneezes on the Moon” “Borman: Why Cancel Out Nixon?” Akron Beacon Journal, July 13, 1969.
“lunar-crazy” Dutch comment quoted in “Europe, Too, Is Awaiting the Launch of Apollo 11,” NYT, July 16, 1969.
“the America we love” Czech comment quoted in ibid.
“12 percent of the entire Moon output is ‘made in Germany’ ” German comment quoted in ibid.
“greatest adventure in the history of humanity” French comment quoted in “Foreign Press Hails Apollo Mission,” TB, July 17, 1969.
“country whose people are so tired of politics” French comment quoted in “Europe, Too, Is Awaiting,” NYT, July 16, 1969.
“three courageous men” Pravda comment quoted in “Foreign Press Hails,” TB, July 17, 1969.
“extend imperialism into space” Communist newspaper comment from Hong Kong quoted in ibid.
“What is there in thee, moon” John Keats quoted in John Noble Wilford, We Reach the Moon, p. 17.
“worth all the heat and mosquitoes” Quoted in Lacey Fosburgh, “Hundreds of Thousands Flock to Be ‘There,’ ” NYT, July 16, 1969.
“new era in the life of man” Quoted in Bernard Weinraub, “Some Applaud as Rocket Lifts, But Rest Just Stare,” NYT, July 17, 1969.
“the kindling light to put men together” Quoted in Weinraub, ibid.
“Incroyable!” Shriver quoted in “The VIP Guests Can Hardly Find Words,” NYT, July 17, 1969.
“the poetry of hope” Hale Broun quoted in CBS, 10:56:20 P.M., p. 21.
“America’s inability to choose the proper priorities” Hosea Williams quoted in “ ‘Priorities’ Under Fire,” LN, July 15, 1969.
“holy ground” Abernathy quoted in CBS, 10:56:20 P.M., pp. 15–16.
“so much that we have yet to do” LBJ quoted in “Johnson Hails National Effort Behind Apollo 11,” NYT, July 17, 1969. A fuller citation of LBJ’s remarks can be found in CBS, 10:56:20 P.M., pp. 19–20.
“not a carnival atmosphere” Sevareid quoted in CBS, 10:56:20 P.M., pp. 13–14.
“pressure might be too great” VEAP, “Apollo 11, 1969,” Part 3:1.
“never was there a prayer like this one” Ibid.
“besieged by newsmen of every category” VEAP, “Looking Back,” p. 7.
“survived this only by the grace of God” VEAP, “Apollo 11, 1969,” Part 3:1.
“welcomed with open arms” Ibid., Part 3:3.
“call us again before you leave?” Ibid., Part 3:4.
“feel somone squeezing your hand these days” Ibid.
“Janet, too, was full of cheerfulness” VEAP, “Apollo 11, 1969,” Part 3:4.
“Stephen and I sat side by side” Ibid., Part 3:6.
E VEAP, “Our Armstrong Family,” p. 4.
E NAA, “What America Means to Me,” The Reader’s Digest (Apr. 15, 1975), pp. 75–76.
“loved every last one” “Neil Armstrong’s kinsman was hanged as a thief,” Life, Mar. 24, 1972; “Neil Armstrong Spared Hanging in Scotland,” CE, Mar. 3, 1972.
Armstrong name began illustriously The primary source used for the early history of the Armstrongs in Scotland is James L. Armstrong, Chronicles of the Armstrongs (Salem, MA: Higginson Book Co., 1902).
emerged as a powerful force Technically, it is inaccurate to call the Armstrongs a “clan,” a designation reserved for Gaels from the Gaeltacht, that is, Highlanders, with a recognized chieftain-based dynasty thought to be descended from the heroes of the Celtic past and with customs and traditions of governance, law, and society all of their own.
By contrast the “Names” of the Lowlands, like the Armstrongs, were more volatile associations, with few permanently recognized chieftain dynasties, which were organized on a feudal and personal basis rather than on the Gaeltacht’s mix of custom and myths of common ancestry.
Unfortunately, this has not stopped modern descendants of these families from calling themselves a “clan.” In fact, members of the Armstrong family—most all of them American tourists—took advantage of the occasion of Neil Armstrong’s Moon landing in July 1969 to establish an organization at Mangerton in Liddesdale, Scotland, known as the Armstrong Clan Society. Spinning off from this organization in the past thirty-plus years has been an Armstrong Genealogy and History Center, Clan Armstrong Trust, and a number of dedicated Internet Web sites.
“Elliots and Armstrongs never fail” VEAP: “Our Armstrong Family,” p. 1.
“very ill to tame” Quotes in this paragraph come from by far the most reliable history of the Anglo-Scottish Border reivers, Fraser, Steel Bonnets, p. 57.
Scott identified . . . “Christie’s Will” The entirety of Sir Walter Scott’s “Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border” is available online at the Web site of the Edinburgh University Library: www.walterscott.lib.ed.ac.uk/works/poetry/minstrelsy.htm
Conveniently, Christie’s Will VEAP: Letter, Historical Research Associates, Co. Antrim, N. Ireland, to Mrs. Stephen Armstrong, Wapakoneta, OH, Feb. 3, 1986. This letter is part of a correspondence sequence between Historial Research Associates and Viola Armstrong.
Militia muster rolls for Ulster “Fermanagh Muster Rolls c. 1630,” part of an Irish genealogy Web site called From Ireland, administered by Jane Lyons, Dublin, Ireland: www.from-ireland.net/censussubs/fermanmust1630.htm. See also “Ulster Ancestry: From the Muster Rolls of the County of Fermanagh, 1631,” at www.ulsterancestry.com/muster-roll1663.html.
Mary Forster Forster (Forrester, Foster) was another one of the large Borderland reiver families. Although found more often on the English than the Scottish side, Forsters from both sides of the boundary intermarried. Sir John Forster (d. 1602) served over nearly four decades as the warden of the Middle March. The dates here are correct: he lived to be over one hundred years old. The lineage between Sir John Foster and Adam Armstrong’s wife Mary Forster (born 1685) is unknown. Perhaps she was a granddaughter. If so, it would suggest a significant linkage between the Forster and Armstrong families.
“first white child” Leckey, Tenmile Country, pp. 538–39.
“most delightful country” Comment made by Christopher Gist, on his survey for the Ohio Company in 1750. On Gist’s exploration of the Ohio Country, see Buck and Buck, The Planting of Civilization in Western Pennsylvania, pp. 63, 66, 71, 72, 75.
ninety cents H. G. Howland, ed., 1880 Atlas of Auglaize County (Columbus, OH: Robert Sutton, 1880). Tax lists are also available online at www.rootsweb.com/~ohauglai/genweb/twp10.htm.
Jacobus J. Van Nuys Following the Civil War, one of the descendants of the Van Nuys family, Isaac Van Nuys, helped lay the foundation for what became the town of Van Nuys, California, north of Los Angeles. Members of today’s Armstrong family believe, based on their genealogical research, that Isaac (1826–1884) may be directly related to Jacobus Van Nuys, the grandfather of Margaret Van Nuys’s Stephen Armstrong.
grandfather Van Nuys’s legacy VEAP: “Our Armstrong Family,” pp. 8–9. In his last will and testament, dated March 28, 1834, Van Nuys ordered “the sum of one hundred dollars . . . payable to my Grandson Stephen Armstrong . . . be invested in land in the name and for the use of said Stephen Armstrong.” Also in the will Jacobus bequeathed “to my grandson Stephen when he shall have arrived at the age of twenty-one years one horse, saddle and bridle and a suit of new clothing of at least the value of one hundred dollars in all, and desire that he may stay in my family during his minority and receive an education sufficient to enable him to transact business with facility.”
census of 1850 “Schedule I: Free Inhabitants in Noble Township in the County of Auglaize, State of Ohio, Enumerated on the 6th Day of September 1850,” available online at www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/oh/auglaize/census/1850/0278b.gif.
Union service records A Stephen Armstrong did fight in the Civil War, but his full identity is unknown. He served as a private in Company A of the 53rd Regiment of Ohio Infantry. This regiment was organized at Jackson, OH, from September 1861 to February 1862, when it was ordered to Paducah, KY. Under the direction of General William T. Sherman, an Ohio native, the 53rd participated in the Battle of Shiloh and the sieges of Corinth and Vicksburg.
with Willis’s mother Martha The Badgley children seem to have left the River Road farm even before Stephen’s Armstrong’s death. In 1871 seventeen-year-old Charles Aaron Badgley went off to study dentistry—his father’s own ambition—with an uncle, Aaron E. Badgley, in Winona, IL. Charles finished school, went into practice with his uncle, and eventually became a doctor of dental surgery in Greenfield, MO. Willis’s half sister Hettie also moved away, marrying a man from Springfield, IL, in 1877. What happened to George and Mary Jane is unknown.
vial of water from the River Jordan VEAP: “The Willis Armstrong Family, Part 1,” p. 2.
half brother Ray Ray Armstrong (b. 1895) and his first wife, whose name is not known, eventually divorced. He then married Leota Longmore Blything and lived in Pasadena, where he set up a successful electrical shop that eventually serviced the nascent motion picture industry. Upon retirement, he and Leota (“Lee”) moved to Joshua Tree, CA. He died there while in his late eighties. Stephen’s half sister Grace (1887–1969) married Ralph Koons in 1920, giving birth to three children: John, George, and Martha. The family stayed in the St. Marys area as farmers. Half sister Bernice (1890–1971) became a teacher in the Cleveland school district. She married a Canadian man by the name of George Wilmer. Together they had one child, Marjorie.
passage to America “Armstrongs Urgrossvater stammt aus Ladbergen,” Münsterländishe Tageszeitung, Sept. 12, 1969.
“hurry home from the Moon” VEAP: “With Grandpa and the Frederick W. Katter Family,” p. 3; “Apple-Dumplings, Neil’s Favorite Dish, Await His Return from Moon,” SMEL, July 16, 1969.
Reformed Church “The Reformed Church in the U.S.,” in Handbook of Denominations in the United States, New Tenth Edition, Frank S. Mead, rev. Samuel S. Hill (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2001), pp. 297–99.
“Mother never preached” Interview with JAH, Hereford, AZ, Apr. 5, 2003.
“the way it is written” VEAP, “My religion has been something very sweet.”
underlining and margin notations VEAP: The Red Letter New Testament of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
“father she never knew” JAH: e-mail to author, Aug. 22, 2003.
“loved his home and his family” VEAP: “With Grandpa,” p. 2.
an “awful surgery” Ibid., pp. 4–5.
“taken one of His flock Home” Ibid., p. 5.
Katter barnyard . . . “was a cemetery” Ibid., p. 8.
“angel appeared at the foot of his bed” Ibid., p. 12.
William Ernst Korspeter VEAP: “The Ernst Korspeter Family.” Viola wrote this seven-page family history of the Korspeters in February 1977. According to a postscript, the account was given to her orally by her stepfather, William Ernst Korspeter, before he died in 1969.
“sort of lonesome” VEAP: Letter, “Dearest Friend,” p. 1, in eighth-grade theme tablet.
“Memory Gems” VEAP: “Cleardale School.”
Jonathan Edwards VEAP: “Sinners in the Hand of an Angry God—Jonathan Edwards,” p. 3.
“eyes that penetrate” VEAP: “The House of Night—Philip Freneau,” p. 3.
“most charming of friends” VEAP: Signed by Doris Fischer in “My School-mates” section of Blume High School yearbook, 1925.
“longed to be a missionary” VEAP: Letter to Reverend Charles Sloca PhD, Fairfield, IA, Oct. 27, 1969, p. 2.
“wonderful time together” VEAP: “The Willis Armstrong Family,” p. 7.
“somehow we would manage”: Ibid.
“These talks with God” VEAP: “The Willis Armstrong Family and the Stephen Armstrong Family,” p. 11.
“thrilled beyond words” Ibid., p. 13.
“we haven’t any little Teddy yet” VEAP: Letter to husband Stephen Armstrong, “Monday evening,” Aug. 4, 1930.
“I cannot save the child” VEAP: “The Willis Armstrong Family and the Stephen Armstrong Family,” p. 15.
“beautiful little dear” Ibid.
E Interview with JAH, Wapakoneta, Aug. 14, 2002, pp. 23–24.
“teach the beauty of life” VEAP: “The Willis Armstrong Family and the Stephen Armstrong Family,” p. 15.
“breast-feed him” Ibid., p. 16.
“hallowed place” Ibid., p. 14.
“rear him according to God’s Holy Word” Ibid., p. 16.
“A little bit scared” Ibid., p. 1.
“Stand up there like a man!” Ibid., p. 5.
read street signs by age three JAH: e-mail to author, Sept. 11, 2003.
“books all around him” SKA: Exhibit recording at Neil Armstrong Air and Space Museum, Wapakoneta, ca. June 1969.
“couldn’t keep him busy all the time” “Neil Armstrong’s Grade Transcript East Elementary School, St. Marys,” part of feature in “Ohio Schools; Three of Neil’s Teachers Here Quoted,” SMEL, Sept. 23, 1969; “Astronaut Neil Armstrong Jumped Second Grade, East School; Teachers Remember Him As Excellent Pupil,” SMEL, July 11, 1969.
“always moving” NAA to author, Aug. 13, 2002, p. 8. In the view of his future wife Janet Shearon (Armstrong), so much moving around from town to town as a boy did have a damaging effect on the formation of Neil’s personality: “He didn’t have the opportunity to develop the kind of friendships with pals like I and most children did. . . . Every place was a new place. I’m sure it had an effect on the development of his social abilities.” JSA to author, Sept. 11, 2004 (afternoon), p. 28.
“corner, reading a book” JAH to author, Aug. 14, 2002, p. 13.
“glue, all over everything!” Ibid., p. 24.
“Goody Two-shoes” Ibid., p. 13.
“definitely a caretaker” Ibid., p. 16.
“Jump! jump! It’s okay” Ibid., pp. 24–25.
“never violated Neil’s space” DAA to author, Nov. 14, 2002, p. 11.
“consumed by learning” Ibid., p. 2.
“only had two dates in high school” Ibid., p. 8.
“never competed with Neil in any way” Ibid., p. 40.
“Dean wasn’t left out” JAH to author Aug. 14, 2002, p. 19.
“never experienced anything” ALSK to author, Aug. 15, 2002, p. 30.
“not made to hurt anyone” DAA to author, Nov. 14, 2002, p. 40.
“ ‘this game is over’ ” JAH to author, Aug. 14, 2002, pp. 16–17.
“a truthfulness about him” VEA to DJH, tape 1B, p. 10.
“wanted us to be good” JAH to author, Aug. 14, 2002, p. 23.
“stubborn rather than . . . opposite” Interview with MC, Mar. 25, 2003, p. 5.
“always does things on his terms” DAA to author, Nov. 14, 2002, p. 40.
“a high level of self-confidence” JAH to author, Aug. 14, 2002, p. 20.
“don’t think he ‘scared’ that much” DAA to author, Nov. 14, 2002, p. 40.
“ ‘Straighten up!’ ” JAH to author, Aug. 14, 2002, p. 14.
“didn’t think of him as being close” NAA: e-mail to author, July 23, 2003.
“never hugged” JAH to author, Aug. 14, 2002, pp. 12–13.
“Dear Mom and Family” VEAP: NAA letter, 400 Salisbury, West Lafayette, IN, to Mrs. S. K. Armstrong, May 3, 1948.
“very close and very loving” DS to author, Wapakoneta, Aug. 15, 2002, p. 3.
“one of the nicest persons” ALSK to author, Aug. 15, 2002, p. 5.
“find fault in anybody” DS to author, Aug. 15, 2002, p. 8.
“spine of the family” AF to author, Aug. 15, 2002, p. 5.
“don’t remember my parents arguing” JAH to author, Aug. 14, 2002, p. 15.
“always there” Ibid., p. 15.
“the flexible one” Ibid., p. 16.
“love of the Master” VEAP: Letter to Reverend Charles Sloca, PhD, Fairfield, IA, Oct. 27, 1969, p. 6.
Taking Butchart at his word SPB to author, Lancaster, CA, Dec. 15, 2002, p. 9.
“great influence on Neil” DS to author, Aug. 15, 2002, p. 7.
“a natural for research” Crites quoted in “Astronaut’s Home Town Swept by ‘Moon Craze,’ ” Syracuse (NY) Post Standard, July 4, 1969, and “Moon Was a Dream to Shy Armstrong,” Dayton Journal Herald, July 11, 1969.
“never let anyone know that he knew anything” Crites quoted in “Neil Armstrong—All American Boy,” The Blade Sunday Magazine, TB, Dec. 5, 1965.
“did not see Neil argue” EFK to author, Dickinson, TX, Dec. 10, 2002, p. 27.
“in the crew quarters” CDF to author, San Diego, CA, Apr. 8, 2003, p. 27.
Cronkite dismissed the matter “Face the Nation as Broadcast over the CBS Television Network and the CBS Radio Network, Sunday, August 17, 1969—11:30 A.M.–12:30 P.M.; Origination: Houston, Texas; Guests: Crew of Apollo 11; Reporters: Walter Cronkite, CBS News, David Schoumacher, CBS News, Howard Benedict, Associated Press,” CBS transcript, p. 24.
“just wants a good cigar” DAA to author, Nov. 14, 2002. This comment was not recorded and thus is not part of the official transcript.
“a million swords to be pierced through my heart” VEAP: Letter to Reverend Sloca, Oct. 27, 1969, p. 5.
“He seems to be inspired by God” Ibid, p. 4.
“out in the hinterlands” This back-and-forth between Armstrong and MC is quoted in AC, A Man on the Moon, Vol. 3, p. 295.
“Small-town values” Walter M. Schirra, with Richard N. Billings, Schirra’s Space, p. 10.
“Growing up in a small town” JG to author, Sept. 23, 2003, p. 11.
“no worse and no better” NAA to DJH, quoted in FOM, 112.
“crawl inside the mixing vats” NAA: e-mail to author, June 27, 2005.
“save a substantial part of it for college” NAA to author, Aug. 13, 2002, p. 10.
“we had painful cramps in our legs” Letter from KKS, Upper Sandusky, OH, to author, May 16, 2003, p. 5.
“Scouts can take a lot of credit for Neil” JBB quoted in “The Path of Scouting Leads to Outer Space,” p. 4.
“stars in the windows” NAA to author, Aug. 13, 2002, pp. 11–12.
“new troop” Tape-recorded letter, JBB, Concord, NH, to author, July 25, 2003, p. 3.
“a real taskmaster sort of fellow” Ibid.
“beat-up three-ring binder” Ibid., pp. 4–5.
“great acclaim under the circumstances” JBB to author, July 25, 2003, p. 4.
“less of a disciplinarian” Ibid.
“not a Scoutmaster” NAA to author, Aug. 13, 2002, p. 12.
“a wonderful combination” JBB to author, July 25, 2003, p. 5.
“ ‘Spit it out, it’s poison!’ ” Ibid., p. 5.
“Neil was furious” Ibid., pp. 5–6.
“might get drafted” NAA to author, Aug. 13, 2002, p. 12.
“one song by heart” BG to author, Wapakoneta, Aug. 15, 2002, p. 12.
“music contributed to ‘thought control’ ” Conn Corporation, Elkhart, IN, “Conn Baritone Player: First Man on the Moon,” press release, July 30, 1969.
“We were so bad” Jerre Maxson to DJH, Wapakoneta, ca. June 1969, tape IIA-2, quoted in FOM, p. 113.
“never have been successful commercially” NAA to author, Aug. 13, 2002, p. 13.
“be sure everything was right” BG to author, Aug. 15, 2002, p. 3.
“He just had things to do” NK to author, Aug. 15, 2002, p. 3.
“never really had a steady date” DS to author, Aug. 15, 2002, p. 6.
“no romance between us” ALSK to author, Aug. 15, 2002, p. 2.
“big thing—to get the car” DS to author, Aug. 15, 2002, pp. 3–4.
“If we got in an accident” Ibid., p. 4.
“We just drove” ALSK to author, Aug. 15, 2002, p. 16.
between the little towns of New Hampshire and St. Johns Ibid., p. 16.
“hit this ditch” DS to author, p. 4.
“Stop the car here” Ibid., p. 5.
“out of the woods” Ibid., p. 5.
“He thinks, he acts” Copy of the Blume High School yearbook for the school year 1946–47 can be reviewed at the Auglaize County Library, Wapakoneta, OH. Another copy of the yearbook is on display in Wapakoneta’s Neil Armstrong Air and Space Museum.
“Neil’s main interest” JZ quoted in Lawrence Mosher, “Neil Armstrong: Man for the Moon: History Waits for Him,” NO, July 7, 1969.
“the possibility of life on other planets” JZ quoted in Boothe, “Neil Dreamed of Landing on Moon Someday,” WDN, June 27, 1969.
“made of green cheese” JZ quoted in Mosher, “Man for the Moon.”
picture of a smiling Zint Dallas Boothe, “Neil Dreamed,” WDN, June 27, 1969; “Astronomer Jakob Zint Provided Neil A. Armstrong’s First Close-Up Look at the Moon,” SMEL, June 27, 1969; Mosher, “Man for the Moon,” NO, July 7, 1969; Al Kattman, “Astronaut Realizing Teen-Age Dream: From Auglaize Farm Home to Trip and Walk in Moon,” LN, July 9, 1969; “Moon Was a Dream,” Dayton Journal Herald, July 11, 1969; “Jakob Zint, Wapakoneta Astronomer, Says ‘Neil’s Dream Has Come True,’ ” SMEL, July 21, 1969.
“Moon through Mr. Zint’s lenses” Mosher, “Man for the Moon,” NO, July 7, 1969.
“now he’s up there” JZ quoted in “Jakob Zint, Wapakoneta Astronomer,” SMEL, July 21, 1969.
“at Jake Zint’s laboratory the one time” NAA: e-mail to author, July 12, 2003.
“his stories appear to be false” Ibid.
“Almost Too Logical to Be True” Photo caption to Mosher, “Man for the Moon.”
“thought it was fishy” ALSK to author, p. 31.
“didn’t sound right to me, either” NK to author, p. 32.
“meet the man up there” Crites quoted in Kattman, “Astronaut Realizing Teen-Age Dream,” and in Mosher, “Man for the Moon.”
“That’s fiction” NAA: e-mail to author, Sept. 15, 2003.
“don’t remember reading about the Wrights” NAA: e-mail to author, Oct. 14, 2003.
“always zooming around in the house” SKA: exhibit recording at Neil Armstrong Air and Space Museum, Wapakoneta, OH, ca. June 1969.
“I don’t know what’s true” NAA to author, Cincinnati, OH, Aug. 13, 2002, p. 5.
“skipped Sunday school” SKA: exhibit recording at Neil Armstrong Air and Space Museum, Wapakoneta, ca. June 1969.
“scared to death and Neil enjoyed it” Mosher, “Man for the Moon.”
“never any end to the dream” NAA to DJH, quoted in FOM, p. 19. See also NAA to author, Aug. 13, 2002, p. 8.
“to the stars in my machine” Tsiolkovskii quoted in A. A. Kosmodemyansky, Konstantin Tsiolkovskii—His Life and Work (Moscow, 1956), p. 8.
“Cherry tree down” All of the quotes from Robert Goddard appear in Esther C. Goddard, ed., The Papers of Robert H. Goddard (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1970), Vol. 2, pp. 623–24, 651, 840; Vol. 3, p. 1216.
“can’t say they were related to flying” NAA to author, Aug. 13, 2002, p. 8.
“tried it later” NAA to DJH, not quoted in FOM. The phrases appear in a working draft of a chapter by DJH for FOM. A copy of this draft exists in the TLA.
“Should I get Mama?” JAH to author, Aug. 14, 2002, pp. 17–18.
“Never to trust a dead limb” NAA: e-mail to author, July 22, 2003.
“never thought of it as being related to my character” Ibid.
“psychological backdrop to this” NAA: e-mail to author, July 23, 2003.
“obviation of failure” Henry Petroski, To Engineer Is Human: The Role of Failure in Successful Design, p. 127.
“focus on aviation” NAA to author, Aug. 13, 2002, p. 5.
“buy models with engines” NAA to DJH, quoted in FOM, p. 114.
fly ones . . . sometimes aflame DAA to author, p. 4.
“Mother would have just died” JAH to author, pp. 18–19.
“it was a rare occasion” NAA: e-mail to author, July 23, 2003.
“the model that wasn’t built well” NAA to author, Aug. 13, 2003, p. 6.
“operational aspects of an airplane” NAA to SA&DB, in Quest, p. 6–7.
“anything I could get my hands on” NAA to SA&DB, Quest, p. 7.
“comic books” Charles Brading quoted in “Moon Was a Dream.”
“never get off the ground” SSK: letter to author May 16, 2003, p. 4.
“fighter-type model” AF to author, Aug. 15, 2002, p. 7.
“I would win a number” NAA to author, Aug. 13, 2002, p. 7.
“ ‘control-line’ models” Ibid., p. 6.
“absorbed a lot of new knowledge” Ibid.
“rode a bike with no fenders” Jerre Maxson quoted in “Astronaut’s Home Town Swept by ‘Moon Craze,’ ” Syracuse (NY) Post-Standard, July 4, 1969.
“ ‘top cylinder overhauls’ ” NAA to author, Aug. 13, 2002, p. 19.
“He learned to fly” VEA to DJH, tape 1A, pp. 5–6.
“around town talking, telling . . . stories” NAA to author, Aug. 13, 2002, p. 19.
“but what did I know!” NAA to author, Aug. 13, 2002, p. 18.
“didn’t need a car” SKA quoted in Mosher, “Man for the Moon.”
“could solo in a glider at age fourteen” NAA to SA&DB, in Quest, p. 8.
“ ‘Oh, oh, here I go!’ ” NK to author, p. 11.
“lone wolf” DS quoted in John McGuire, “Neil Armstrong—All American Boy.”
“never expressed any fear” JAH to author, Aug. 14, 2002, p. 21.
“an exceptionally special day” NAA to author, Aug. 13, 2002, p. 20.
“didn’t bounce it like I did” NK to author, p. 11.
“not like that technique at all” NAA to author, Aug. 13, 2002, p. 19.
“saw the plane go down” DAA to author, p. 16.
Lange died in Neil’s arms “Frederick C. Lange Victim of Accident,” Lima News, July 28, 1947; “Flying Student Killed in Plane Accident Saturday,” WDN, July 28, 1947.
“pretty severe impact” NAA to author Aug. 13, 2002, p. 21.
pondering whether he should keep flying Mrs. Stephen Armstrong as told to Lorraine Wetzel, “Neil Armstrong’s Boyhood Crisis,” Guideposts (Feb. 1970): 3–7. In FOM, Farmer and Hamblin wrote: “[Neil’s] mother thought that he might give up flying after he saw one of his fellow students die in a plane crash. . . . Neil spent most of the next two days in his room, his mother remembered, but he did not give up flying” (p. 114). I have not been able to locate the interview in which Viola suggested this to the Life magazine writers, but the comments seem in character, even if it is not an accurate reflection of Neil’s reaction to Carl Lange’s tragic death.
“never felt he was affected by it in any way” JAH to author, Aug. 14, 2002, p. 21.
“shattering the sonic wall” These were the words of Air Force Secretary Stuart Symington when he confirmed on June 10, 1948, that the Bell X-1 had broken the sound barrier. See James Hansen, The Bird Is on the Wing: Aerodynamics and the Progress of the American Airplane, p. 102. For a thorough history of the X-1 program, see Richard P. Hallion, Supersonic Flight: Breaking the Sound Barrier and Beyond, rev. ed.
“missed all the great times” NAA: e-mail to author, Oct. 14, 2003.
“very good math skills” Doris Barr, Cincinnati, OH., to author, telephone conversation, Aug. 15, 2002. As it turned out, Armstrong probably did not need trigonometry to get into engineering school; in fact, his high school transcript did not record the course from Doris Barr.
“build up the naval air reserve strength” NAA to SB&DB, in Quest, p. 8.
medical examination recorded “Physical Examination for Flying,” Form NAVMED AV-1 (1943), dated Mar. 7, 1947, copy in Armstrong’s military records file, NPRC.
“fly the airplane for seven dollars an hour” NAA to author, Aug. 13, 2002, p. 17.
“dropped the blackberries” VEA to DJH, tape 1A, pp. 6–7.
“a wonderful deal” NAA to author, Aug. 13, 2002, p. 22. In 1947, Armstrong’s primary costs at Purdue University, all of which were covered by his navy scholarship, probably ran no higher than about $400 for the academic year. For college tuition in 1945, the GI Bill provided veterans with a maximum of $500 per academic year and out of that money the student had to pay for course fees, books, and supplies, estimated by the university at forty to fifty dollars per semester.
navy appointment letter L. C. Conwell, Commander, USN, Officer Procurement Division, to Mr. Neil Alden Armstrong, 601 West Benton, Wapakoneta, OH, May 14, 1947, copy in Armstrong’s military records file, NPRC.
“ ‘shop culture’ school” DSS: letter, King of Prussian, PA, to author, Dec. 25, 2002, p. 3.
“We took all pretty much the standard stuff” NAA to author, Aug. 13, 2002, p. 24.
“Students didn’t protest” Letter: DAG to author, Nov. 30, 2002, p. 1.
“tested out of freshman English” NAA to author, Aug. 13, 2002, p. 24.
“kind of a whirl” Ibid.
“sleeping in the field house” TT: e-mail to author, Oct. 23, 2002.
“Dear Mom & Family” VEAP: NAA, 400 Salisbury, W. Lafayette, IN, to Mrs. S. K. Armstrong, 601 W. Benton, Wapakoneta, OH, May 3, 1948.
“made the wrong choice” NAA to author, Aug. 13, 2002, p. 24.
“I have no idea” NAA: e-mail to author, Oct. 26, 2003.
“kids looked so young!” NAA to SA&DB, in Quest, p. 14.
“quiet, pleasant type” PJK, Las Vegas: letter to author, Nov. 17, 2002, p. 3.
“combination where I can do both” NAA to author, Aug. 13, 2002, p. 45.
“not rigorous enough” Milton Clauser’s views on the need to reform Purdue’s aeronautical engineering curriculum are summarized in Grandt Jr. et al., One Small Step, p. 101.
“engineering science” For a rich historical treatment of the role of engineering science in American aeronautics, see Walter G. Vincenti, What Engineers Know and How They Know It. See also From Engineering Science to Big Science: The NACA and NASA Collier Trophy Research Project Winners, ed. Pamela E. Mack. For a specific analysis of the development of engineering science within college aeronautical engineering programs, see Amy Elizabeth Foster, “Aeronautical Science 101: The Development of Engineering Science in Aeronautical Engineering Education at the University of Minnesota,” MA Thesis, University of Minnesota, Jan. 2001. Dr. Foster (PhD, Auburn University, 2005) compares the AE programs at Minnesota and Purdue.
“in that Wind Tunnel class” Dr. Leslie A. Hromas letter to author, Oct. 17, 2002, “Interactions and Thoughts About Neil.”
“Neil would roam” Richard H. Petersen, La Jolla, CA: e-mail to author, Nov. 4, 2002.
the days of “The Paddle” NAA: e-mail to author, Oct. 26, 2003.
“Marvin Karasek, an amazing pianist and composer” NAA: e-mail to author, Oct. 28, 2003.
La Fing Stock VEAP: Copies of show programs for “Student Union Presents ‘Varsity Varieties,’ ” Nov. 19, 1952, and Nov. 20, 1953.
“trade party” cohosted by Janet’s sorority JSA to author, Sept. 10, 2004 (morning), transcript, p. 19.
“damage sufficient to prevent flying it back” NAA: e-mail to author, Dec. 3, 2002.
“haul it back . . . on our grandfather’s hay wagon” DAA to author, pp. 17–18.
“cease to be known as a spaceman?” Quoted in Ira Berkow, “Cincinnati’s Invisible Hero,” CD, Jan. 17, 1976.
E Letter, Peter J. Karnoski, Las Vegas, NV, to author, Nov. 17, 2002, p. 3.
E Quoted on the last page of James A. Michener, The Bridges at Toko-Ri (NY: Random House, 1953).
Since the days of John Paul Jones Richard C. Knott, A Heritage of Wings: An Illustrated History of Navy Aviation, pp. 268–69.
“called us up early” NAA to SA&DB, in Quest, p. 8.
“NavCads” “The NavCads were more expendable,” recalled Tommy Thompson of Class 5-49. “The navy had very little invested in them as compared to having paid for two years of college for the midshipmen.”
“little time away from the grind” NAA to author, Aug. 13, 2002, p. 26.
“how to polish our shoes” TT: e-mail to author, Oct. 29, 2002. Attachment: “Flight Training,” p. 1.
“gave everyone low grades” NAA: e-mail to author, Nov. 11, 2003.
“walked [disciplinary] ‘tours’ ” PJK: letter to author, Nov. 17, 2002, p. 1.
only one “Delinquent Report” “Delinquency Report, Pre-Flight, Battalion I: Aviation Training Summary,” Jacket Number C-5-49-C-197, CNATRA (Chief of Naval Air Training) Files, U.S. Navy Historical Research Center, Pensacola, FL. All quotes pertaining to Armstrong’s flight training come from his CNATRA file.
“Neil was one of us” PJK: letter to author, Nov. 17, 2002, pp. 1–2.
“some of us just barely” TT: e-mail to author, Oct. 29, 2002, Attachment: “Flight Training,” p. 1.
averaged 3.27 Grade reporting sheet, Navy Department, Bureau of Naval Personnel, Washington, DC, n.d., copy in Armstrong’s military records file.
“sat in the rear seat” TT: e-mail to author, Oct. 29, 2002, Attachment: “Flight Training,” p. 2. William A. Mackey (“Wam”), who instructed at Whiting Field from June 1948 to July 1949, remembers that “the instructor rode in the back and the student in the front seat.” WAM, written comments to author on draft MSS, Jan. 11, 2005.
“a big step up” NAA: e-mail to author, Nov. 11, 2003.
“Average to above” Armstrong’s CNATRA file.
“sure of himself in that plane” PJK: letter to author, Nov. 17, 2002, p. 2.
“confident, but not cocky” DSS: letter to author, Dec. 25, 2002, p. 3.
“If it involved flying” BJC: letter to author, Nov. 15, 2002, Attachment, p. 3.
“you’re indestructible!” PJK: letter to author, Nov. 17, 2002, p. 2.
“do things with perfection” NAA to author, Aug. 13, 2002, p. 27.
“every man for himself” DSS: letter to author, Dec. 25, 2002, p. 1.
“advance along his track faster” NAA to author, Aug. 13, 2002, p. 30.
“LSO had a paddle in each hand” Ibid., p. 28.
“keep both eyes open” Ibid., pp. 28–29.
“take off easily, without a catapult” Ibid., p. 28.
“very emotional achievement” Ibid., p. 27.
“highly precise kind of flying” Ibid., p. 28.
“fighter pilots always said” NAA to SA&DB, in Quest, p. 9.
“responsible for anybody else” VEA to DJH, ca. June 1969, Tape 1A, p. 7.
“first for bragging rights” HAG: e-mail to author, Oct. 10, 2002.
“given the West Coast” NAA to author, Aug. 13, 2002, p. 31.
“attached to this command in a pool status” Officer’s Fitness Report signed by Cdr. Luke H. Miller, Commanding Officer, FASRON 7, NASA San Diego, CA, Dec. 5, 1950, copy in Armstrong’s military records file.
“waiting for my fighter assignment” NAA to author, Aug. 13, 2002, p. 31.
“lovely flying experience” Ibid.
“single-engine pilots wanted to fly jets” WAB: e-mail to author, Sept. 15, 2002.
“mystique about flying” KCK: e-mail to author, July 3, 2003.
“a dream spot” HAG: e-mail to author, Oct. 12, 2002.
“made every plane he ever flew look good” John Moore, The Wrong Stuff: Flying on the Edge of Disaster, p. 93.
“can’t have all four of those guys!” WAM to author, Sept. 21, 2002, p. 3.
eleven additional “nuggets” EMB: letter to author, Nov. 12, 2002, p. 2.
“fly with each of the nuggets” EMB: letter to author, Nov. 12, 2002, p. 2.
“whatever Ernie found out about me” NAA: e-mail to author, Nov. 13, 2003.
“vibration-free flow of power” WAB: e-mail to author, Sept. 15, 2002.
“high-powered race car” HAG: e-mail to author, Oct. 20, 2002.
“very short legs” WAM to author, Sept. 21, 2002, p. 3.
“one of those magic moments” NAA to author, Aug. 13, 2002, p. 31.
“quiet without being shy” HAG: e-mail to author, Oct. 12, 2002.
“very solid aviator” WAM to author, Sept. 21, 2002, p. 13.
“designated naval aviator” EMB: letter to author, Nov. 12, 2002, p. 2.
flying was . . . “a bit scarce” NAA: e-mail to author, Nov. 14, 2002.
“swept-wing MiG-15s” HAG: e-mail to author, Oct. 20, 2002.
“very young, very green” NAA to SA&DB, in Quest, p. 10.
“won against a MiG” NAA to SA&DB, in Quest, p. 11.
“didn’t have particularly good handling qualities” Ibid.
“lot of fun” WAM to author, Sept. 21, 2002, p. 5.
“the best of the navy fighters” HAG: e-mail to author, Oct. 22, 2002.
“speeds tended to be higher on the jet” NAA to author, Aug. 13, 2002, p. 32.
“thought they were crazy” NAA to SA&DB, in Quest, p. 10.
“in proper lineal position with his contemporaries” Chief of Naval Personnel, Department of the Navy, Bureau of Naval Personnel, Washington, DC, to ENS Neil Alden Armstrong, USN, “Change in Date of Rank,” n.d., copy in Armstrong’s military records file.
“great precision pilot” KCK: e-mail to author, July 3, 2003.
“skill and the nerve” HAG: e-mail to author, Oct. 20, 2002.
“graded on every landing” KCK: e-mail to author, July 3, 2003.
“first few catapult launches took faith” HAG: e-mail to author, Oct. 20, 2002.
“perilously close to the water” NAA to author, Aug. 13, 2002, p. 38.
“recommended for promotion when due” Officer’s Fitness Report signed by Capt. Austin W. Wheelock, Commanding Officer, USS Essex, June 30, 1951, copy in Armstrong’s military records file.
“a big letdown for us” KCK: e-mail to author, July 3, 2003.
“only game in town” KCK: e-mail to EMB forwarded to author, July 3, 2003.
“kick us ensigns off the ship” Rickelton diary, July 11, 1951.
“war is as good as over” Ibid., July 25, 1951.
“adventure of their life” GER to William Holloway, Cincinnati, OH, Mar. 17, 1999, communicated to author in e-mail from Holloway, Dec. 3, 2003.
“Same rolling, pitching” Journal of Robert Kaps, “USS Essex (CV9), Carrier Air Group Five, 28 June 1951 to 25 March 1952,” entry for Aug. 20, 1951.
“broke my fist on the . . . bulkhead” “Personal Diary of Ensign Glen Howard “Rick” Rickelton, U.S. Navy, Written During VF-51 Combat Flight Training & Korean War Service Aboard CV-9 U.S.S. Essex,” entry for Aug. 20, 1951.
first time navy fighters . . . ever escorted On the Rashin raid on Aug. 25, 1951, see Richard P. Hallion, The Naval Air War in Korea, pp. 181–85.
“The four-plane division” NAA: e-mail to author, Nov. 25, 2003.
“one of the boys” HAG to author, June 20, 2003, p. 15.
“Neil in the ready room after dinner at the blackboard” Ibid., pp. 2–3.
“Neil, where were you?” Story told in JM, Wrong Stuff, pp. 120–21.
“very good relationship” KCK: e-mail to author, July 16, 2003.
“delighted when I had the chance to fly with him” NAA to SA&DB, in Quest, p. 13.
“ ‘guy just doesn’t care!’ ” Tape-recorded letter, HCS to author, p. 5.
“ ‘CAG, help me out’ ” WAM to author, pp. 12–13.
“greatest of the ‘follow me, boys!’ ” Quoted in Michener, “The Forgotten Heroes of Korea,” Saturday Evening Post, May 10, 1952, p. 20.
What the hell was the man thinking? GER: letter to author, Sept. 24, 2003, p. 3.
“couple of hundred more pounds of fuel” NAA: e-mail to author, Dec. 21, 2003.
“as contrary as we could” Ibid., p. 35.
“shocking incident” Commander, Carrier Air Group Five to Commanding Officer, USS Essex (CV-9), “Action Report of Carrier Air Group FIVE (18 August 1951–19 September 1951,” Sept. 22, 1951, p. 4, Naval Historical Center, Department of the Navy, Washington Navy Yard, Washington, DC. Accessible online at www.history.navy.mil.
“heckler . . . exploded after catapult” Kaps journal, entry for Aug. 23, 1951.
“pronounced outlook on the point of survival” Commander, Carrier Air Group Five to Commanding Officer, USS Essex, “Action Report of Carrier Air Group FIVE (18 August 1951–19 September 1951,” Sept. 22, 1951, p. 4.
“not the hero type” Kaps journal, entry for Sept. 2, 1951.
experience of Paul Gray In The Naval Air War in Korea, historian Richard P. Hallion calls Commander Paul Gray of VF-54 “the Navy’s own flak magnet and Wonsan harbor ditching expert” (p. 186). James A. Michener features Gray and the five times he was shot down in “The Forgotten Heroes of Korea,” The Saturday Evening Post, May 10, 1952, pp. 19–21 and 124–28.
“could have walked on it” Rickelton diary, entry for Sept. 3, 1951.
flying with John Carpenter In some of the incorrect versions of Armstrong’s flight of September 3, 1951, Neil is said to have been flying as wingman for Dick Wenzell. For example, see Thomas F. Gates, “The Screaming Eagles in Korea, 1950–1953; Part 2,” The Hook (Winter 1996): 26.
“ARMSTRONG of VF-51 saved his own life” Commander, Carrier Air Group Five to Commanding Officer, USS Essex, “Action Report of Carrier Air Group FIVE (18 August 1951–19 September 1951,” Sept. 22, 1951, p. 5.
“Armstrong bailed out” “One Stub Wing,” Naval Aviation News (Dec. 1951), in section on “Korean Air War,” n.p.
“regained control” Hallion, The Naval Air War in Korea, pp. 166–67.
“going to snap” NAA to author, Aug. 13, 2002, p. 36.
“told me to go find out about it, so I did!” JM, Wrong Stuff, p. 120. Moore’s story is repeated as fact in Gates, “The Screaming Eagles,” p. 24.
“intended to come down in the water” NAA to author, Aug. 13, 2002, p. 36.
“ ‘pay the government for that helmet’ ” KID to author, June 27, 2003, p. 10.
“cool handling of the situation” HAG: e-mail to author, Oct. 23, 2002.
“Bailed out over Pohang” Armstrong logbook, Sept. 3, 1951.
“price to pay for a goddamn truck!” JM, Wrong Stuff, p. 124.
“living bejesus shot at them” KID to author, p. 8.
“lives of five pilots, one air crewman, and ten aircraft” Commander, Carrier Air Group Five to Commanding Officer, USS Essex, “Action Report of Carrier Air Group FIVE (18 August 1951–19 September 1951,” Sept. 22, 1951, p. 5.
“Two damn fine guys lost and for what?” Kaps journal, entry for Sept. 4, 1951.
“worst part of it” Rickelton journal, entry for Sept. 4, 1951.
“it did get better” NAA to author, Aug. 13, 2002, p. 37.
“never missed an opportunity to shoot” NAA to author, Aug. 13, 2002, p. 38.
“with our hands tied” HAG: e-mail to author, Oct. 23, 2002.
“stress maybe even panic in his voice” “Ernie Beauchamp’s Account of the Banshee Crash,” in “VF-51 in Korea—The Essex Cruise,” by KCK and HG, undated MSS, p. 11. In November 2003, when the author received it from KCK, this manuscript was still a work in progress.
“Jesus Christ, look at it burn!” “Hersch Gott’s Recollection of the Banshee Crash,” in “VF-51 in Korea—The Essex Cruise,” by KCK and HG, p. 16.
“ducked under it as it went by” Rickelton diary, entry made on Sept. 18, 1951, two days after the Banshee crash.
“heat was horrible” JM, Wrong Stuff, p. 7.
“no heed of personal safety” Commander, Carrier Air Group Five to Commanding Officer, USS Essex, “Action Report of Carrier Air Group FIVE (18 August 1951–19 September 1951,” Sept. 22, 1951, p. 7.
“ ‘Essex hard luck’ ” Kaps journal, entry for Sept. 16, 1951.
“unique and interesting” NAA to author, Aug. 13, 2002, p. 41.
“Never sell them short” VEA to DJH, Wapakoneta, ca. June 1969, Tape 1B, p. 12.
“get photos one day” HG to author, June 20, 2003, p. 18.
“Let’s go shoot something” GER: letter to author, Sept. 24, 2002, p. 3.
“up close along the border” NAA to author, Aug. 13, 2002, p. 40.
“anxious moments but no engagements” Kaps journal, Oct. 29, 1951.
“keeps the planes from toppling over” Kaps journal, entry for Nov. 26, 1951.
“jettison armaments prior to returning” NAA to SA&DB, in Quest, p. 12.
“can’t remember ever having come back with any ordnance” WAM to author, p. 14.
On December 14. As Captain Austin E. Wheelock brought the Essex into the docks at Yokosuka after its third tour in the Sea of Japan, he ordered Operation Pinwheel, whereby, on signal from the bridge, all pilots of the ship’s propeller-driven Corsairs and Skyraiders (tied down on the port side of the flight deck, propellers facing outward) were to turn their engines to full power. The resulting pinwheel effect would help the harbor tugboats pivot the carrier into its berthing position. Most of the pilots resentfully called the order “Operation Pinhead.” Commander Paul N. Gray of VF-54 told his AD pilots to run the engines at no more than half power. To quell the anger of Captain Wheelock, CAG Marshall Beebe restricted VF-54 to the ship for four days while the other squadrons took liberty. Three days later, carrier division commander, Rear Admiral “Black Jack” Perry intervened on the pilots’ behalf, though too late to forestall damage to pilot morale or pilot regard for the CAG. Michener would memorialize the incident in his 1953 novel The Bridges at Toko-Ri. See also Paul N. Gray’s “The Bridges at Toko-Ri: The Real Story,” in Shipmate (July–Aug. 1997).
“sang Christmas carols” NAA: e-mail to author, Dec. 18, 2003.
“I couldn’t be home” Rickelton diary, Dec. 26, 1951.
“Who’s in a hurry?” Kaps journal, Dec. 27, 1951.
“HAPPY DAY!” Ibid., Jan. 4, 1952.
“good news tonight!!” Rickelton diary, Jan. 4, 1952.
“Rick shot down” Kaps journal, Jan. 6, 1952.
“our fighter pilot” J. Glenn Rickelton: e-mail to author, Dec. 1, 2003.
“come back one more time” WAM to author, p. 19.
“questioned everything” NAA to SA&DB, in Quest, p. 14.
“more intensity to combat” NAA to author, Aug. 13, 2002, p. 44.
“reality that you live with” Ibid., p. 40.
“stopped worrying about it” HAG: e-mail to author, Oct. 23, 2002.
“didn’t cut off the supplies” NAA to author, Aug. 13, 2002, p. 40.
“cleared out of those gun emplacements” HG to author, June 20, 2003, p. 19.
“didn’t ask questions much” NAA to SA&DB, in Quest, p. 13.
“excellent representation of the kinds of flying we were doing” Ibid.
“equally difficult places” NAA to author, Aug. 13, 2002, p. 39.
“If everybody from New Mexico was like those two boys” WAM to author, p. 17.
“Chet was a very thoughtful person” NAA: e-mail to author, Nov. 29, 2003.
“like a bunch of little kids” Tape-recorded letter, HCS to author, p. 6.
“Wam, I’m hit” KCK: letter to author, “Comments on ‘The Forgotten Heroes of Korea,’ [by] James A. Michener—5/10/52 Sat[urday] Eve[ning] Post,” Sept. 10, 2003, p. 4. Michener reported that Cheshire said, “Wham, I’m hit!” not understanding the reference to division leader William A. Mackey’s nickname “Wam,” after his initials.
“get up there fast” Ibid., p. 5.
“already dead at this point” Ibid.
“clear he was going to ditch” NAA: e-mail to author, Dec. 8, 2003.
“Heaven help this world of ours” Kaps journal, Jan. 26, 1952.
“God bless you all, men” Quoted in Michener, “The Forgotten Heroes of Korea,” p. 124.
“glad to have that one over” Kaps journal, Feb. 1, 1952.
“ought to go fly” NAA to author, Aug. 13, 2002, p. 40.
“trying to get out on more missions” Tape-recorded letter, HCS to author, p. 9.
“land of dreams” Kaps journal, Mar. 11, 1952.
“none will have to go through it again” Ibid., Mar. 25, 1952.
“like gold stars at Sunday school” NAA quoted in FOM, p. 19.
“For distinguishing himself by meritorious service” Certificate awarded by the Commander of the Seventh Fleet, “The Air Medal to Ensign Neil A. Armstrong, United States Navy,” June 21, 1952, copy in Armstrong’s military files.
“enormous respect” for the Skipper NAA to author, Aug. 13, 2002, p. 35.
“it’s how you perform” NAA to SA&DB, in Quest, p. 13.
“we did as teams” Ibid., 12.
“click together very well” Tape-recorded letter, HCS to author, p. 3.
“fight the wrong war in the wrong place” Michener, Bridges at Toko-Ri.
E Captain William S. Farren, British Royal Aircraft Factory, quoted in Henry T. Tizard, “Methods of Measuring Aircraft Performances,” Aeronautical Society of Great Britain, Aeronautical Journal, no. 82 (Apr.–June 1917), in James R. Hansen, ed., The Wind and Beyond: A Documentary Journey into the History of Aerodynamics in America; Vol. 1: The Ascent of the Airplane (Washington, DC: NASA SP-2003-4409), p. 357.
E Captain Henry T. Tizard, pilot in the Testing Squadron of the British Royal Flying Corps during World War I, and later the chair of the Royal Air Force’s Committee for the Scientific Survey of Air Defense, Ibid., p. 340. Aeronautical Society of Great Britain, Aeronautical Journal, no. 82 (Apr.–June 1917).
“prophetic statement” KCK: e-mail to author, Oct. 23, 2003, and Jan. 4, 2004.
“doubt that I made the statement” NAA: e-mail to author, Oct. 24, 2003.
“extend my time in the service or swim home” NAA to SA&DB, in Quest, p. 13.
“presents a fine military bearing” Officer’s Fitness Report signed by Cdr. C. B. Cottingham, Air Transport Squadron 32, NAS San Diego, CA, Aug. 8, 1952, copy in Armstrong’s military records file.
“trick knee” Chief of Naval Personnel, Bureau of Naval Personnel, Department of the Navy, to Commandant, Ninth Naval District, “Subj: LTJG Neil A. Armstrong, USN-R,” Feb. 24, 1954, copy in Armstrong’s military records file.
“high degree of interest and initiative” Report on the Fitness of Naval Reserve Officers on Inactive Duty, “Armstrong, Neil Alden,” signed by LCDR Leonard R. Kozlowski, Commanding Officer, VF-724, NAS Glenview, June 5, 1954, copy in Armstrong’s military records file.
“outstandingly proficient Naval Aviator” Reports on the Fitness of Naval Reserve Officers on Inactive Duty, “Armstrong, Neil Alden,” signed by LCDR Kozlowski, June 30, 1955, and May 20, 1956, copies in Armstrong’s military records file.
“forced him to terminate his activities with this unit” Report on the Fitness of Naval Reserve Officers on Inactive Duty, “Armstrong, Neil Alden,” signed by LCDR A. A. Johnston, Commanding Officer, NRA VF-773, NAS Los Alamitos, Aug. 3, 1956, copy in Armstrong’s military records file.
“asked if he could come down” NAA to author, Nov. 26, 2002, p. 1.
post at Lewis laboratory While working in Cleveland, Armstrong lived sixteen miles southeast of downtown at 424 Fair Street, Berea, Ohio.
“Piloting of aircraft” Annual Qualifications Questionnaire, Inactive Reserve, USN-R, “Armstrong, Neil Alden,” June 30, 1954, copy in Armstrong’s military records file.
“with a view to their practical solutions” Public Law 271, 63d Congress, approved Mar. 3, 1915. The complete text of the NACA’s charter appears as Appendix A in Hansen, Engineer in Charge, p. 399.
“Son, have you ever flown an airplane?” Comment made by Melvin N. Gough, quoted in Laurence K. Loftin Jr., “A Research Pilot’s World As Seen from the Cockpit of an NASA Engineer-Pilot,” unpublished ms., July 1986, chap. 3, p. 5.
“flew successfully an instrumented vehicle to greater than Mach 5” This phrase is from the following NASA memorandum: John H. Disher, Deputy Director, Apollo Applications Program, NASA Headquarters, to Joseph E. Robbins, Administrative Officer, NASA Wallops Station, Wallops Island, VA, Aug. 1, 1969, copy provided to author by G. Merritt Preston, a former NACA Lewis engineer, copy in author’s Preston file. Disher’s memo informed former Wallops Island director Joseph A. Shortal’s A New Dimension: Wallops Flight Test Range, The First Fifteen Years (Washington DC: NASA RP-1028, 1978). A shorter but more comprehensive survey is provided in Wallace, Wallops Station and the Creation of an American Space Program (Washington, DC: NASA SP-4311, 1997).
“lot of analyzing data” NAA to SA&DB, in Quest, p. 15.
“it was the right one” Ibid.
“The only product of the NACA was research reports” Ibid.
“system was so precise, so demanding” NAA to author, Nov. 26, 2002, p. 2.
“like to transfer out there” Ibid., p. 1.
“San Diego to Chicago” Tape-recorded letter, HCS to author, p. 11.
“use a black marker” KCK: e-mail to author, July 3, 2003.
“a superb flying place” NAA to author, Nov. 26, 2002, p. 3.
“used to get up there” DJH interview with JSA, El Lago, TX, n.d. (ca. June 1969), p. 3. Copy in TLA.
“never learned to fly a plane” JSA essay for DJH, “People Are Always Asking Me,” n.d. (ca. June 1969), p. 3.
“She was all the right things” EC to author, Feb. 10, 2003, pp. 2–3.
“isn’t one to rush into anything” JSA essay for DJH, “People Are Always Asking Me,” n.d. (ca. June 1969), p. 2.
“Janet is as strong as horseradish” DAA to author, p. 24.
“opposites attract” Ibid., p. 24.
“see her being attracted to class” EC to author, p. 3.
“years to get to know him” JSA to author, Sept. 10, 2004 (morning), p. 22.
“six cents a mile for the trip” JSA to DJH, quoted in FOM, p. 116.
“It was very lovely” VEAP: “Richley Blest,” p. 2.
“for one semester” NAA to author, Nov. 26, 2002, p. 43.
“a shower was a hose hung out over the tree limb” Ibid.
“loved it” DJH interview with JSA, El Lago, TX, n.d. (ca. June 1969), p. 2. Copy in TLA.
“total relaxation away from everything” DJH interview with JSA, El Lago, TX, n.d. (ca. June 1969), p. 17. Copy in TLA.
“only one stop sign away” DJH interview with JSA, El Lago, TX, n.d. (ca. June 1969), p. 1. Copy in TLA.
“wasn’t very reliable” BL to Christian Gelzer, Edwards, CA, Jan. 30, 2003, p. 7.
“start rolling down the hill” Milton O. Thompson, At the Edge of Space, p. 15.
“had a ’47 Dodge” NAA to author, Nov. 26, 2002, p. 44.
“would drive that way!” BL to Gelzer, Jan. 30, 2003, p. 11.
“ran the truck into a ditch” Ibid.
“kids wanted to ride with Neil” Ibid., p. 12.
“wonderful runway for those big machines” NAA to author, Nov. 26, 2002, p. 3.
“gung-ho individual” Clyde Bailey to Michael Gorn, NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, CA, Mar. 30, 1999. Interview transcript published in “Clyde Bailey, Richard Cox, Don Borchers, and Ralph Sparks,” The Spoken Word, ed. Peebles, p. 25.
“crappiest winter weather” MOT, ATEOS, p. 4.
flew a B-29 Superfortress At Edwards, the NACA flew two B-29s. One was a P2B-1S, a navy version of the B-29A (serial number 45-21787) designated as NACA 137; the other was a JTB-29A (serial number 45-21800), with no NACA number. The P2B-1S, flown from 1951 to 1959, served primarily as the D-558-2 mother ship, and the JTB-29A, flown from 1955 to 1958, as the mother ship for the X-1 series. The NACA’s B-47A (serial number 49-1900), designated as NACA 150, flew from 1953 to 1957. The NACA also flew a B-50 as a launch aircraft.
“ ‘kid is not even out of high school yet!’ ” SPB to author, Dec. 15, 2002, Lancaster, CA, p. 8. Butchart thought so highly of Neil Armstrong that he insisted on participating in this interview even though the funeral for his wife of fifty-seven years, Miriam, had been only five days earlier.
“in a learning mode” NAA to SA&DB, in Quest, p. 15.
(with an F-51 designation) The precise designation of this aircraft was ETF-51D (E=Experimental, T=Test, F=Fighter, D=Model). NAA to SA&DB in Quest, p. 16. The NACA transferred this particular Mustang to Edwards from Langley in 1950. The P-51/F-51 was the first aircraft to employ the NACA’s so-called laminar flow airfoil and could dive to around Mach 0.8. At Edwards, it was used as both a proficiency aircraft and as a chase and support plane. It was retired in 1959 after a taxiing mishap.
“became more confident in my abilities” Ibid.
“flew in both positions” NAA to author, Nov. 26, 2002, p. 5.
“thought we’d hit another airplane” SPB to author, p. 7.
“good introduction to how the game went” Ibid.
“Butch, number four quit” SPB to author, p. 12.
“wasn’t too concerned” SPB to Curt Asher, Lancaster, CA, Sept. 15, 1997, p. 26. Copy in the Historical Archives, NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, CA.
“scratching my head” SPB to author, pp. 12–13.
“a windmilling propeller” NAA to author, Nov. 26, 2002, p. 30.
“get rid of the rocket plane underneath” Ibid., p. 31.
“I’ve got to drop you!” Ibid., p. 13.
“Neil, you got control?” Ibid., p. 14.
“ ‘Get your gear down!’ ” Ibid.
“could have turned ugly” NAA to author, Nov. 26, 2002, p. 31.
“don’t think I could ever get it supersonic” Ibid., p. 8.
“if you turned, it would really slow down” Ibid., p. 9.
“a lot of landing work” Ibid.
“probable best technique?” Ibid., p. 31.
900-plus flights This is a complete list of the aircraft that Armstrong flew during his seven-year career at Edwards. In parenthesis following the aircraft type are the numbers that the NACA/NASA assigned to the specific airplane. The first number in the designation is typically the year that the NACA received the aircraft.
Research Aircraft (jet)
Bell X-5 (50-1838)
Research Aircraft (rocket)
Bell X-1B (48-1385)
North American Aviation X-15 (56-6670)
North American Aviation X-15 (56-6672)
Research Aircraft (other)
Paraglider Research Vehicle (N9765C)
Lockheed NT-33A Shooting Star (51-4120) Cornell Laboratories
Convair NC-131B Samaritan (53-7793) Cornell Laboratories
Fighters (jet)
North American Aviation YF-86D Sabre (50-777/NACA 149)
North American Aviation F-86E Sabre (50-606/NACA 157)
North American Aviation F-100A Super Sabre (52-5778)
North American Aviation JF-100C Super Sabre (53-1709)
North American Aviation JF-100C Super Sabre (53-1712)
North American Aviation JF-100C Super Sabre (53-1717)
McDonnell YF4H-1 Phantom II (142259)
McDonnell F-101A Voodoo (53-2422) Minneapolis Honeywell
McDonnell F-101A Voodoo (53-2434)
Convair YF-102 Delta Dagger (53-1785)
Convair JF-102A Delta Dagger (54-1374)
Convair TF-102A Delta Dagger (56-2345)
Lockheed YF-104A Starfighter (55-2961)
Lockheed F-104A Starfighter (56-0734)
Lockheed JF-104A Starfighter (56-0745)
Lockheed JF-104A Starfighter (56-0749)
Lockheed F-104B Starfighter (57-1303)
Lockheed F-104D Starfighter (57-1315)
Lockheed F-104D Starfighter (57-1316)
Republic F-105 Thunderchief (54-0102)
Republic YRF-84F
Convair F-106B Delta Dart (57-2547)
Douglas F5D-1 Skylancer (139208/NACA 212)
Douglas F5D-1 Skylancer (142350/NACA 213)
Fighters (propeller driven)
North American ETF-51D Mustang (44-84958/NACA 148)
Bombers (jet)
Boeing JB-47A Stratojet (49-1900)
Bombers (propeller driven)
Boeing P2B-1S Superfortress (84029/NACA 137)
Boeing JTB-29A Superfortress (45-21800)
Trainers (jet)
Cessna T-37A (54-2737)
Cessna T-37B (56-3480)
Lockheed T-33A Shooting Star (49-0939)
Lockheed T-33A Shooting Star (51-6692)
Transports (jet)
KC-135A Stratotanker (55-3124)
Lockheed L-1329 JetStar (N9288R)
Transports (propeller driven)
Douglas R4D-5 Skytrain (17136)
Douglas JC-47D Skytrain (43-48273)
Douglas DC-3 Skytrain (N41447)
Beechcraft C-45H Expediter (51-11806/N717R)
General Aviation
Cessna L-19A Bird Dog (50-1675)
Piper PA-23 Apache (N . . . 35P)
Rotary wing (helicopter)
Hiller H-23C Raven (56-2288)
Piasecki H-21B Workhorse (53-4380)
“not do a lot of flying” NAA to SA&DB in Quest, p. 18.
“most intelligent of all the X-15 pilots” MOT, ATEOS, pp. 2, 16.
“wanting to understand everything” BAP to author, p. 12.
“set him apart from mere mortals” WHD to author, Dec. 9, 2002, p. 7.
“turned out Neil was right” WHD to author, Ibid., pp. 6–7.
“circles around many test pilots, engineering-wise” GJM to author, p. 21.
“did not have that bias” Ibid., p. 7.
“more mechanical than it is flying” WJK to author, p. 9.
“prejudiced for the fact that this guy’s been a NACA” CCK to author, p. 7.
“evaluating a man from a test-pilot-performance capability” Ibid.
“first techniques for maneuvering in outer space” This claim is made, for example, in the caption to a photograph showing Yeager in the F-104 available at http://mach1collectibles.com. The same caption also states that “NASA eventually took over the U.S. quest for space,” a ridiculous assertion that the U.S. Air Force actually began the American space program.
“inadvertently touched down at 170 KIAS” NAA, Aeronautical Research Engineer and Pilot, memorandum for record, “Pilot Familiarization; X-1B #385; Flight No. 14,” Aug. 15, 1957, History Archives, NASA Dryden.
“didn’t really fail . . . I broke it” NAA to author, Nov. 26, 2002, p. 13.
“dropped too close to Edwards Dry Lake” NAA: e-mail to author, Jan. 22, 2004.
“a complex and bothersome nuisance” NAA to author, Nov. 26, 2002, pp. 11–12.
“unique, self-adjusting system” Ibid., p. 12.
“used airplanes like the mathematician might use a computer” Ibid., pp. 39–40.
“rapidly deteriorating . . . near Mach 3” Hallion, On the Frontier, p. 76.
“optimum maximum energy” Quoted in Hallion, On the Frontier, p. 77.
“tended to blame the air force officials” NAA: e-mail to author, Feb. 3, 2004.
“often in the Simulation Lab” NAA: e-mail to author, Feb. 3, 2004.
“outputs to the instruments were improperly mechanized” Ibid.
“pilots didn’t really trust simulators” GLW to author, p. 3.
“Neil believed in the simulations” RED to author, pp. 7–8.
“possible to pilot an aircraft into orbit” NAA to author, Nov. 26, 2002, p. 34.
“watch them get sick!” RJB to author, p. 17.
“persuaded ourselves at least” NAA to author, Nov. 26, 2002, p. 34.
“best simulator that had ever been built up to that time” Ibid., p. 25.
“put together a little team” Ibid., pp. 25–26.
“like a streamlined brick” MOT, ATEOS, p. 66.
“sundry combinations of speed brakes and flaps” GJM to author, p. 5.
“a 360-degree spiraling descent starting at about 40,000 feet” Ibid.
“something that the pilots, with their own experience, knew intuitively” Ibid., p. 6.
“ ‘try theirs for a change’ ” Ibid., pp. 5–6.
“ ‘Here he is!’ ” RED to author, pp. 6–7.
“flight stick should look like” NAA to author, Nov. 26, 2002, pp. 37–38.
“hinge points for one person” Ibid., p. 37.
“development of this high-speed range or ‘High Range’ ” Ibid., p. 10.
“flying westbound against the Earth’s rotation” Ibid., p. 32.
“contractor was expected to demonstrate” Ibid., p. 26.
“not party to those discussions” Ibid., p. 27.
“how a T-38 would perform” NAA: e-mail to author, Mar. 16, 2004.
“nice to have somebody along” NAA to author, Nov. 26, 2002, p. 30.
“very confined world in there” Ibid., p. 35.
“proceed with the original flight plan” Radio “X-15-1 #670, Flight 1-18-31,” Nov. 30, 1960, p. 1, History Archives, NASA Dryden.
“landing would be the same” NAA to author, Nov. 26, 2002, p. 35.
“Thanks, Dad” Radio “X-15-1 #670, Flight 1-18-31,” Nov. 30, 1960, p. 4, History Archives, NASA Dryden.
“Real nice flight, boy!” Radio “X-15-1 #670, Flight 1-19-32,” Dec. 9, 1960, p. 3, History Archives, NASA Dryden.
“just a different man” JAH to author, Aug. 4, 2002, p. 26.
“she tripped and fell” JSA to DJH, El Lago, TX, n.d. (summer 1969), p. 4.
“teaching swimming during this time” Ibid., p. 5.
“told him I was hospitalizing her” Ibid.
“never, ever complained” Ibid.
“took the radiation beautifully” Ibid., p. 6.
“ ‘No, she’ll be dead within six months’ ” JAH to author, Aug. 14, 2002, p. 25.
“just overcame her” JSA to DJH, n.d. (summer 1969), p. 6.
“desperately wanted to do something to help” GWW to author, p. 8.
“She was a gay little thing” Ibid., p. 9.
“loved his little girl very deeply” Ibid., p. 12.
Neil being very “composed” at the funeral JGM to author, p. 10.
“always felt like that wasn’t the thing to do” GWW to author, p. 12.
“a pilot thing” Ibid., p. 6.
“hurt Jan a lot” Ibid.
“Angry at God” Ibid., p. 12.
“Ricky was so happy” Ibid., p. 11.
“did things with the kids” Ibid., p. 11.
“to be alone” Wead, All the Presidents’ Children, p. 78.
“thought his heart would break” JAH to author, Aug. 14, 2002, p. 26.
“the other men took care of the animal” Ibid., p. 27.
“time by his daughter’s gravesite” BAP to author, Dec. 19, 2002, p. 9.
“quickly stepped forward and kissed her” UPI wire story, John L. Michael, “2-Year-Old Girl Bussed by Neil,” Oct. 23, 1969. A copy of this article can be found in the archives of the WDN.
“never asked him . . . I couldn’t” JAH to author, Aug. 14, 2002, p. 27.
“hard decision for me” NAA to DJH, n.d. (ca. spring 1969), p. 8. Copy in TLA.
“bit of pie in the sky” NAA to SA&DB, in Quest, p. 19.
“impossible once Sputnik” Ibid.
“absolutely changed our country’s view” Ibid.
“certainly aware of Mercury” Ibid., p. 18.
“didn’t have that feeling at all” NAA to author, Nov. 26, 2002, p. 60.
“At the time the Mercury Program was started” NAA to SA&DB, in Quest, p. 20.
“I always felt that ‘form follows function’ ” NAA to author, Nov. 26, 2002, p. 60.
“far more involved in spaceflight research than the Mercury people” NAA quoted in FOM, p. 19.
“risks we had in the space side of the program were probably less” NAA to SA&DB in Quest, p. 17.
“great dark sepulchral bridge coat” Wolfe, Right Stuff, p. 17.
“liked the people . . . at Edwards” NAA to author, Nov. 26, 2002, p. 60.
“our thing at Edwards” Ibid., p. 55.
“fiddled with the airplane” Ibid.
“confirmed that it could be doable” Ibid.
“pilots that were to do the development work” Ibid., p. 58.
“could have kept flying the X-15” Ibid.
“also working on the Dyna-Soar” NAA to SA&DB, in Quest, p. 19.
“I don’t think there was a Eureka moment” NAA to author, Nov. 26, 2002, p. 59.
“accident prone” RED to author, p. 8.
“biggest bang I’d ever heard” North American Aviation, Inc., X-15 1960 Annual Report, USAF Film Report, Sept. 15, 1961. Quote is from A. Scott Crossfield’s onscreen appearance in this film. The NAA documentary is available on the CD-ROM that comes with Godwin, ed., X-15: The NASA Mission Reports.
“whether there had been damage” NAA to author, Nov. 26, 2002, p. 42.
“a severe right roll occurred” NAA, “Pilots Flight Notes,” Dec. 20, 1961, p. 1, copy in NASA Dryden Historical Archives.
“aspects of the MH-96” NAA to author, Nov. 26, 2002, p. 41.
“impact seemed to be somewhat harder” NAA, “Pilot’s Flight Notes,” Dec. 20, 1961, p. 2.
“went pretty much on plan” NAA to author, Nov. 26, 2002, p. 47.
“did not see any light” NAA, “Rough Draft, Pilot’s Comments,” Apr. 6, 1962, p. 1, copy in NASA Dryden Historical Archives.
“long time the second time for that engine to light up” Ibid.
“highest I’d ever gone” NAA to author, Nov. 26, 2002, p. 48.
“I thought I got the g’s high enough” Ibid.
“Hard left turn, Neil!” Transcript of radio voice communications, “X-15-2; Flight 3-4-8; April 20, 1962,” p. 5, copy in NASA Dryden Historical Archives.
“Of course, I’m trying to turn” NAA to author, Nov. 26, 2002, p. 49.
“no reason to suspect that ballooning would cause any trouble” Ibid., p. 50.
“sailing merrily by the field” NAA, “Pilots Comments, Flight 3-4-8,” Apr. 21, 1962, p. 2, copy in NASA Dryden Historical Archives.
“whether I would be able to get back to Edwards” NAA to SA&DB, in Quest, p. 17.
“home base in sight” Transcript of radio voice communications, “X-15-2; Flight 3-4-8; April 20, 1962,” p. 5.
“a hundred miles per hour, racing down that lake bed” BAP to author, p. 7.
“little old lady in Pasadena” JGM to author, p. 6.
“How far was Neil from the Joshua trees?” Ibid., pp. 6–7.
“just barely made it back to the dry lake bed” WHD to author, p. 9.
“rather funny at the time” WJK to author, p. 4.
“giggled over it a little bit” RMW to author, p. 12.
“a lax condition” WJK to author, p. 4.
“sounded like a screwup to him” NAA to author, Nov. 26, 2002, p. 51.
“there were definite limitations” GLW to author, p. 10.
“didn’t realize how far up the nose had gone” WHD to author, p. 10.
“a learning thing” NAA to author, Nov. 26, 2002, p. 52.
“doing what he thought was the right thing” WHD to author, p. 10.
“guy was by the numbers” RJB to author, p. 15.
“like the back of my hand” Y&J, Yeager: An Autobiography, p. 181.
“think about Smith’s Ranch Lake?” Academy of Achievement, “General Chuck Yeager Interview,” Cedar Ridge, CA, Feb. 1, 1991, p. 4. This interview can be accessed online at www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/yea0int-1.
“damndest to talk Armstrong out of going at all” Y&J, Yeager, p. 182.
“touched, but we sure as hell didn’t go” Ibid.
“went up there and looked it over” NAA to author, Nov. 26, 2002, p. 22.
“go back and try it again” Ibid.
“Chuck started to chuckle” Ibid.
“driver came out and he had a chain” Ibid.
“don’t think anyone has ever seen the film” Ibid., pp. 22–23.
“What an air force pickup truck was doing there” Ibid., p. 22.
“Any ideas?” Y&J, Yeager, p. 182.
“Keep the door open and we’ll jump aboard” Academy of Achievement, “General Chuck Yeager Interview,” p. 4.
Neil “did not rise to the bait” E-mail, Christian Gelzer, NASA Dryden Research Center, to author, “Re: Bill Dana,” Feb. 27, 2004. This e-mail communicated responses to questions posed to WHD by Dr. Gelzer, a NASA Dryden historian, on behalf of the author.
“Neil’s embarrassment” Gelzer e-mail to author, “Re: Bill WHD,” Feb. 27, 2004.
“when Bikle saw me he burst out laughing” Y&J, Yeager, p. 182.
“felt Yeager was the best” WHD to author, Dec. 9, 2002, p. 7.
“last guy at Edwards to take any advice” Y&J, Yeager, p. 181.
“I did take his advice!” NAA to author, Nov. 26, 2002, p. 23.
“thought I was a wild man” Y&J, Yeager, pp. 108, 121.
“rated them about as high as my shoelaces” Ibid., pp. 182–83.
“wasn’t too good an airplane driver” Academy of Achievement, “General Chuck Yeager Interview,” p. 4.
“limited understanding” NAA to author, Nov. 26, 2002, p. 19.
“just like we always did” Ibid., p. 45.
“decided to go to Nellis Air Force Base” Ibid.
“a no-radio approach” Ibid., pp. 45–46.
“a good jolt when I hit it” Ibid., p. 46.
“stretched the truth a bit” MOT, ATEOS, p. 113.
“Oh no, not again!” Ibid., p. 116.
“bad day all around” NAA to author, Nov. 26, 2002, p. 46.
“applied power to abort the landing and get airborne” MOT, ATEOS, p. 115.
“didn’t diddle around” SAB to author, p. 27.
“Bikle was very pragmatic” NAA to author, Nov. 26, 2002, p. 28.
NASA formally announced Memo, Brainerd Holmes to Webb, Dryden, and Seamans, “Subj: Selection of Additional Astronauts,” Apr. 28, 1962, with enclo., “Gemini and Apollo Astronaut Selection.” Also, MSC Space News Roundup, May 2, 1962, p. 1; Astronautical and Aeronautical Events of 1962, p. 56.
“We wanted him in” RED to author, Dec. 11, 2003, p. 10.
“his personal affairs” Ibid., p. 11.
Yet he does credit Day NAA: e-mail to RED, July 16, 1997, in author’s Dick Day file.
“He never mentioned anything to anybody” SPB to author, Dec. 15, 2002, p. 25.
“hadn’t seen anything to indicate that Neil wanted to leave Edwards” BAP to author, Dec. 19, 2002, p. 17.
“Due to commitments of Mr. Neil A. Armstrong” PFB, Director, NASA Flight Research Center, to NASA HQ, Attn: Mr. John Stack, Code RA, “Flights of United Kingdom Aircraft by Neil A. Armstrong,” May 29, 1962, copy in Armstrong’s personal papers.
“memo was a form response” NAA: e-mail to author, Mar. 17, 2004.
“looking for qualified test pilots” CCK to author, p. 2.
“Walt Williams thought he was first rate” Ibid.
“absolutely no way” Ibid., p. 3.
“somewhat affected by the situation” NAA to author, Nov. 26, 2002, p. 61.
“around the Fourth of July” JAH to author, Aug. 14, 2002, p. 27.
“happy to get that call” NAA to author, June 2, 2003, p. 5.
“definitely on the list” “NASA Test Pilot Named First Civilian Astronaut,” Washington Evening Star, July 18, 1962, p. 1.
“suspect that at least one civilian will be included” Collins’s letter to his father, written on Aug. 19, 1962, is quoted in MC, CTF, p. 29.
“odds had been good he would make this cut” Jim Lovell and Jeffrey Kluger, Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13, p. 187.
“Nobody pressured us” Donald K. Slayton with Michael Cassutt, Deke!, p. 120.
“people from my own organization” NAA to author, June 2, 2003, p. 5.
“how I would grade in those categories” Ibid.
“projects of the current space program” NAA and Euclid C. Holleman, A Review of In-Flight Simulation Pertinent to Piloted Space Vehicles. AGARD Report 403, 21st Flight Mechanics Panel Meeting, Paris, France, July 9–11, 1962, p. 7.
“smoke was obvious” NAA to author, Nov. 26, 2002, p. 54.
“were some painful experiences” NAA to author, June 2, 2003, p. 3.
“lot of strange tests like that” Ibid.
“ ‘Fifteen Men in a Boardinghouse Bed’ ” Ibid.
“guys who were stationed in Michigan” Ibid., p. 4.
“didn’t find it at all difficult” Ibid.
“All thirty-two of the finalists” Ibid., p. 5.
“We did not have military pilots” NAA: e-mail to author, Mar. 27, 2004.
“difficulties . . . Mercury astronauts” NAA to author, June 2, 2003, p. 10.
“lookout for any abnormal behavior” MC, Carrying the Fire, p. 29.
“completely quiet” NAA to author, June 2, 2003, p. 7.
“checked in as Max” Ibid., p. 8.
“plenty of missions for all of you” Gilruth quoted in Tom Stafford with Michael Cassutt, We Have Capture, p. 40.
“test pilot’s creed” Slayton quoted in TS with MC, WHC, pp. 40–41.
truly remarkable group of men A few women did apply for astronaut selection in 1962, but as Bob Gilruth explained at the September 17, 1962, press conference, “none qualified.” The other four civilian finalists for the second class of astronauts were Thomas E. Edmonds, John M. Fritz, Orville C. Johnson, and John L. Swigert. Of these, only Jack Swigert ever became an astronaut, as part of NASA’s fifth class, chosen in 1966. Swigert, the first—and for many years—only unmarried astronaut ever accepted into NASA’s astronaut corps, journeyed to the Moon as part of Apollo 13, replacing Thomas K. “Ken” Mattingly on the crew after he was grounded for being exposed to the German measles.
“best NASA ever picked” MC, CTF, p. 30.
“more like junior executives” Homer Bigart, “9 New Astronauts Named to Train for Moon Flights,” NYT, Sept. 18, 1962, p. 1.
“general challenge of the unknowns” NAA quoted in Manned Spacecraft Center, “Trainees Comment on ‘Why?,’ ” NASA Roundup, Sept. 19, 1962, p. 5.
“like to be on the first team” FB and the other members of the “New Nine” quoted in Manned Spacecraft Center, “Trainees Comment on ‘Why?,’ ” NASA Roundup, Sept. 19, 1962, p. 5.
“fairly unsophisticated questions” NAA to author, June 2, 2003, p. 8.
“variety of aircraft available to fly” Ibid., p. 7.
“make a ‘rag wing’ ” NAA to author, Nov. 26, 2002, p. 57.
“Where’s Milt?” BAP to author, p. 20.
“problems developing a good flight-worthy vehicle” MOT, ATEOS, p. 147.
E MC to author.
E Eugene Cernan with Dan Davis, Last Man on the Moon: Astronaut Gene Cernan and America’s Race in Space, p. 145.
“the three grimmest days” See McDougall, The Heavens and the Earth, pp. 318, 328, and Charles Murray and Catherine Bly Cox, Apollo, pp. 79–80.
“the mantles of the single-combat warriors” Wolfe, Right Stuff, pp. 101–03.
“right on the brink of World War III” NAA to SA&DB, in Quest, p. 23.
Pete Conrad watched Conrad’s reaction described in Stafford, We Have Capture!, p. 41.
first in a series of contractor tours Armstrong’s itinerary has been reconstructed from his Travel Request and Authorization forms, MSC, in NAA’s personal papers. Signing the forms at MSC were Donald K. Slayton, the “approving official,” and Paul E. Purser, the “authorizing official.”
“lots of food and plenty of booze” Stafford, We Have Capture!, p. 42.
“Every Monday morning all astronauts would get together” Ibid., p. 43.
“hardest-working bunch of guys” George M. Low, Deputy Administrator, NASA Headquarters, to Robert Sherrod, “Further Comments on Astronaut Chapter,” Oct. 8, 1974, copy in NASA History Office Archives, Washington DC, File 87–12, Box 15.
“I didn’t find the academic burden to be overly difficult” NAA to author, Cincinnati, OH, June 2, 2003, p. 11.
“Vomit Comet” Flight Crew Training Report No. 27, “Period: April 22–27, 1963,” in NAA’s personal papers.
Dilbert Dunker Flight Crew Training Report No. 49, “Period: September 23–28, 1963,” in NAA’s personal papers.
“at sixteen g’s” Glenn quoted in MC, Liftoff: The Story of America’s Adventure in Space, p. 31. Glenn detailed his experiences on the Johnsville centrifuge in “The Wheel” in We Seven, pp. 180–87. Glenn also discusses his rides on the wheel in John Glenn: A Memoir, pp. 236–37 and 276–81.
“get up to twenty g’s” Faget quoted in WMS, “Our Cozy Cocoon,” in We Seven, p. 146.
“dynamic runs” Flight Crew Training Report No. 40, “Period: July 22–27, 1963,” in NAA’s personal papers.
“That training went for” NAA: e-mail to author, “Questions about astronaut training,” Apr. 8, 2004.
helicopter flight to preparations Flight Crew Training Report No. 457, “Period: November 18–23, 1963,” in NAA’s personal papers.
“The helicopter was not a good simulation of the lunar module control at all” NAA to author, Cincinnati, OH, June 3, 2000 (afternoon), p. 26.
“heard the news bulletin” NAA to author, June 2, 2003 (morning), p. 18.
“it was just natural that I was at the place where the simulators were” Ibid., p. 6.
“Deke just said, ‘Here they are’ ” Stafford, WHC, p. 44.
“probably an easy pick for Deke” NAA to author, June 2, 2003 (morning), p. 6.
“equations of motion” NAA to author, June 2, 2003 (morning), p. 16.
“sense of being proper” Ibid.
“useful simulator” Ibid.
Lovell . . . memos Jim Lovell, Memorandum for Astronauts, “Parasail Primer,” July 26, 1963; Lovell, “Gemini Egress Development,” Feb. 7, 1964; Lovell, Memorandum for Astronauts, “Ballute Test Results,” Feb. 11, 1964; Lovell, “Gemini Survival Kits,” Apr. 27, 1964. Copies of all these memos and others by different astronauts were found in NAA’s personal papers.
“memos flying” NAA to author, June 2, 2003 (morning), p. 12.
“Some things weren’t covered” NAA to SA&DB, in Quest, p. 22.
week in the barrel Armstrong’s “week in the barrel” is laid out in Fred Asselin, Astronaut Affairs Coordinator, Office of Public Affairs, MSC, to Neil Armstrong, Astronaut Office, MSC, June 16, 1964, in NAA’s personal papers.
“Quite a different responsibility” NAA to SA&DB, in Quest, p. 21.
“Neil presented a certain façade, a certain persona” MC to author, Marco Island, FL, Mar. 25, 2003, p. 4.
“Neil would be . . . on the thinker side” Ibid., p. 6.
“potential of being challenged” BA to author, Albuquerque, NM, Mar. 17, 2003, p. 4.
“long time coming to a solution” RFG to author, Prescott, AZ, Apr. 12, 2003, p. 9.
“Neil was patient with processes” MC to author, Mar. 25, 2003, p. 4.
“He could be stubborn” BA to author, Mar. 17, 2003, p. 5.
“Neil . . . bamboozled” WAA to author, San Diego, CA, Sept. 8, 2003, p. 8.
“meet anyone halfway” MC to author, Mar. 25, 2003, p. 8.
“Neil wasn’t an expansive guy” WAA to author, Sept. 8, 2003, p. 35.
“Neil is as friendly” JG to author, The John Glenn Institute for Public Service & Public Policy, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, Sept. 23, 2003, p. 5.
“jungle training” Ibid., p. 4.
“Neil’s theory on exercise” JG, Glenn: A Memoir, pp. 391–92.
“That a boy, Dave!” David Scott to author, Atlanta, GA, Feb. 1, 2003, transcript, p. 22. I interviewed Scott the afternoon of the Space Shuttle Columbia accident.
“on his own schedule” MC to author, Mar. 25, 2003, p. 7.
“The guy was really cool under pressure” Scott to author, Feb. 1, 2003, p. 31.
“You just couldn’t see through him” BA to author, Mar. 17, 2003, p. 6.
“I had no expectation of getting it” NAA to author, June 2, 2003, p. 18.
“actual flight assignment” NAA to SA&DB, in Quest, p. 24.
“how Deke assigned the crews” NAA to author, June 2, 2003, pp. 18–19.
“Some flights required more, or special, skills and experience” Ibid., p. 18.
“So he [Deke] tried to think things through ahead of time” Ibid., p. 20.
“a very loose operation” Ibid., p. 13.
“So I took a very simple approach” Ibid., p. 21.
“ ‘Eight days or bust was their motto’ ” MC, Liftoff, p. 87.
“backing up Gordon Cooper” NAA to SA&DB, in Quest, p. 23.
“Deke stood up for [Gordo]” NAA to author, June 2, 2003, p. 30.
“equal to thousands of hours in the labs” NAA to SA&DB, in Quest, p. 21.
“We’d get home . . . sometimes” Ibid., p. 24.
“Slayton would send astronauts out” EFK to Roy F. Neal, Houston, TX, Mar. 19, 1998, p. 15. This interview was conducted as part of the NASA JSC Oral History Project.
“We practiced the procedures” NAA to author, June 2, 2003, p. 23.
“responsibilities of the tracking station at Hawaii” Ibid., p. 23.
“We all knew the spacecraft very well” NAA to SA&DB, in Quest, p. 24.
“It was mostly A-to-B flying” NAA to author, June 2, 2003, p. 2.
“Morehead was a superb facility” Ibid., p. 17.
“My interests were just from a rank amateur” Ibid.
“a good visual representation” Ibid.
“we would turn the lights completely down in the cockpit” Ibid.
“We didn’t get much Southern Hemisphere practice” Dave Scott to Ken Glover, ca. 1992, sent by e-mail to author from Eric P. Jones, May 24, 2003. Under NASA sponsorship, Glover assisted Jones during the 1990s in the creation of the Apollo Lunar Surface Journal, available online at www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/.
“my sense is that the Gemini teams were more closely knit than the Apollo ones” NAA to author, June 2, 2003, p. 27.
“Ours was the first spacecraft to go into space with a fuel cell” Gordon Cooper with Bruce Henderson, Leap of Faith, p. 135.
“newfangled contraption” MC, Liftoff, p. 87.
“We actually talked to the spacecraft on VHF as it went overhead” NAA to SA&DB, in Quest, p. 24.
“nearly cost us our mission” GC, Leap of Faith, p. 136.
“we’d released a rendezvous pod” Ibid.
Tom Stafford TS, WHC, p. 69.
“Dave was an excellent choice” NAA to author, June 2, 2003, p. 32.
“I had some concept of what was in Deke’s mind” Ibid.
“super flight with great objectives” NAA to author, June 2, 2003, p. 35.
“Gemini meant the twins, Castor and Pollux” Ibid.
internal technical debate For a detailed analysis of the debate over the selection of lunar-orbit rendezvous as the mission mode for the Moon landing, see chapter 8 of Spaceflight Revolution (1995), “Enchanted Rendezvous,” pp. 221–68.
“rendezvous and docking” NAA: e-mail to author, May 12, 2003.
troubled development For a summary of the Agena’s development problems as a rendezvous target vehicle, see chapter 13 of Barton C. Hacker and James M. Grimwood, On the Shoulders of Titans, “Agena on Trial,” pp. 297–321.
“epoxy in the catcher mechanism” NAA to author, June 2, 2003, p. 37.
“cost us the launch” David Scott in Scott and Alexei Leonov, Two Sides of the Moon, p. x.
“I was speechless” VEAP, “Thinking Back,” p. 4.
“surprise when you really launched” NAA to author, June 2, 2003, p. 36.
reflected a “keying up” On the X-15 aeromedical investigations, see Wendell H. Stillwell, X-15 Research Results (Washington, DC: NASA SP-60, 1965), pp. 89–90.
“The Titan II was a pretty smooth ride” Ibid., p. 37.
“Hey, how ’bout that view!?” Gemini VIII Voice Communications (Air-to-Ground, Ground-to-Air and On-Board Transcription), Gemini Project Files, p. 3. Copy in NARA, Southwest Repository, Ft. Worth, TX, Record Group 255, MAC Control No. C-115471.
“First, all you see is blue” NAA to author, June 2, 2003, p. 37.
“worried about the engine keeping running” Ibid., p. 38.
“all those ships!” Gemini VIII Voice Communications (Air-to-Ground, Ground-to-Air and On-Board Transcription), Gemini Project Files, p. 18. Copy in NARA, Southwest Repository, Ft. Worth, TX, Record Group 255, MAC Control No. C-115471. Armstrong’s comment came at 1:29:08 elapsed time.
“A fundamental requirement of rendezvous” NAA to author, June 2, 2003, p. 40.
“Then a strange thing happens” MC, Liftoff, pp. 72–73.
“Rendezvous simulation in Gemini” NAA to author, June 2, 2003, p. 31.
“We achieved fifty to sixty rendezvous simulations on the ground” NAA to Barton C. Hacker, Houston, TX, Apr. 6, 1967, p. 13. Tape recording in NARA, Southwest Repository, Ft. Worth, TX, Record Group 255, Code GemOH49.
“This was a teeny-tiny computer” NAA to author, June 2, 2003, p. 38.
“allowed us to arrive at the Agena” Ibid., p. 41.
“quick loose burn” Scott quoted in On the Shoulders of Titans, p. 310.
“one hundred thirty degrees behind the Agena” NAA to author, June 2, 2003, p. 41.
“It’s hard to do at night” Ibid., p. 42.
“At that point it lit up like a Christmas tree” Ibid.
“we did what was called ‘station keeping’ ” Ibid.
“It was very easy to fly close” Ibid.
“I was going to have him fly it, but not then” Ibid., p. 43.
“we were not in level flight like we were supposed to be” Ibid., p. 44.
“any trouble with the docking” NAA to SA&DB, in Quest, p. 26.
“problem or mistake, it would come from the Agena” NAA to author, June 2, 2003, p. 34.
“probably an unnecessary comment” NAA to author, June 2, 2003, p. 44.
“problem was not the Agena’s” Ibid., p. 46.
“hear the thruster when it fired” NAA to SA&DB, in Quest, p. 26.
“tumbling gyro” NAA to author, June 2, 2003, p. 45.
“lose our ability to discriminate accurately” Ibid.
“engage the spacecraft’s other control system” Ibid., p. 46.
“We found the culprit” Ibid., p. 47.
“Murphy’s law says bad things always happen” NAA to SA&DB, in Quest, p. 27.
“I knew what the mission rules were” NAA to author, June 2, 2003, p. 46.
“I had to go back to the foundation instincts” NAA to SA&DB, in Quest, p. 26.
“I wanted to stay up” NAA to Barton C. Hacker, Houston, TX, Apr. 6, 1967, p. 20.
“we steered a course for Okinawa” NAA to author, June 2, 2003, p. 49.
“We appeared to be dropping at a prodigious rate” Ibid.
“coming down in Red China” NAA to SA&DB, in Quest, p. 27.
“We assumed it was friendly” Ibid.
“Gemini was a terrible boat” NAA to author, June 2, 2003, p. 35.
“I was very depressed” Ibid., p. 50.
“Our job was to protect Armstrong and Scott” WMS, Schirra’s Space, p. 173.
“The wind took it right back out again!” NAA to author, June 2, 2003, p. 51.
“I’ll get a gun and sink her!” WMS, Schirra’s Space, p. 174.
“We tried to tell them everything we knew” NAA to author, June 2, 2003, p. 52.
“It was a great disappointment to us” NAA to SA&DB, in Quest, p. 26.
“I JUST HAD A PHONE CALL FROM NEIL ARMSTRONG” Telegram, Hank Suydom, Houston, to Dave Snell, New York City, “RUSH PERSONAL,” Mar. 29, 1966, copy in NAA personal files.
run articles on Gemini VIII In Life, Mar. 25, 1966, and Apr. 1, 1966.
“I’ll speak for both of us” The contributions to the Life article entitled “A Case of ‘Constructive Alarm,’ ” published in the Apr. 1, 1966, issue, were sent from Houston to New York by Teletype: Hank Suydam to Time, Inc., New York City, Mar. 28, 1966, copy in NAA personal files.
“I know that you were not entirely satisfied with the result” Edward K. Thompson to NAA and David Scott, Apr. 5, 1966, copy in NAA personal files.
“What Went Wrong?” United Press International, “What Went Wrong? Tapes Hold Secret,” New York World-Telegram, Mar. 17, 1966.
“We are very proud of them” Statement issued by Pres. Lyndon B. Johnson, Pres. Doc., Mar. 21, 1966, p. 400.
“criticize Neil’s performance” EC, The Last Man on the Moon, p. 101.
“turned out to be the wrong thing to do” TS, WHC, p. 84.
“the crew had unnecessarily activated a backup control system” Walter Cunningham, with Mickey Herskowitz, The All-American Boys, pp. 91–92.
“participated in that crap” FB to author, Las Cruces, NM, Mar. 15, 2003, p. 10.
“Everybody second-guessed everybody” AB to author, Houston, TX, Feb. 7, 2003, pp. 36–37.
“Neil could have done” James McDivitt to author, Tucson, AZ, Apr. 7, 2003, p. 8.
“one ring of their reentry system” BA to author, Albuquerque, NM, Mar. 17, 2003, p. 15.
“You’ll never hear it from me” JG to author, Columbus, OH, Sept. 23, 2003, p. 7.
“life-threatening situation” CCK, Flight: My Life in Mission Control, pp. 254, 255.
“I was damn impressed with Neil” EFK to author, Dickinson, TX, Feb. 6, 2003, p. 5.
“never forget this mission’s lesson” EFK, Failure Is Not an Option, p. 174.
“We tricked the astronauts on that one” CKK to author, Feb. 7, 2003, p. 9.
“figure out the right diagnosis” NAA to author, June 2, 2003, p. 48.
“the technicians did something that put a nick in that cable” Ibid.
“we had done everything right” Scott, Two Sides of the Moon, p. 181.
“remained a mystery” NAA to author, June 2, 2003, p. 48.
“They wouldn’t have known what happened” Dave Scott to author, Atlanta, GA, Feb. 1, 2003, p. 37.
“a big glitch in the program” CKK to author, Feb. 7, 2003, p. 10.
“it could have been a showstopper” Scott, Two Sides of the Moon, p. 180.
“nothing . . . that affected their crew assignments” MC to author, Mar. 25, 2003, p. 11.
“Neil quick-thinking” WAA to author, San Diego, CA, Sept. 8, 2003, p. 10.
“even greater confidence in Neil’s abilities” CKK to author, Feb. 7, 2003, p. 12.
“the crew demonstrated remarkable piloting skill” Gilruth quoted in Manned Spacecraft Center, “Mission Evaluation Team Lauds Quick-Thinking Gemini VIII Crew,” Space News Roundup, Apr. 1, 1966, p. 1.
“parlayed a busted Gemini VIII flight into the Buck Rogers grand prize mission” Cunningham, The All-American Boys, p. 92.
“affect us some way in the future” NAA to author, June 2, 2003, p. 53.
“get right back into the cycle” NAA to Barton C. Hacker, Apr. 6, 1967, p. 24.
“space hero” “Wapak Awaits Celebration for Hometown Spaceman,” LN, Apr. 10, 1966.
“Wapakoneta made the request” NAA to author, June 2, 2003, pp. 53–54.
“You are my people” Carolyn Focht, “ ‘More Than I Deserve,’ ” Columbus (OH) Dispatch, Apr. 14, 1966; Al Kattman, “Proud Hometown Greets Astronaut,” Lima News, Apr. 14, 1966.
“more than I deserve” Focht, “ ‘More Than I Deserve.’ ”
“Those dear people” VEA to DJH, Wapakoneta, OH, n.d. (ca. Mar. 1969], Life interview, Tape 1B, p. 18. Copy in VEAP.
“Indeed, we know nothing yet” VEAP, “Looking Back,” n.d. [ca. 1976], p. 3.
“Our prayers were answered” Ibid., p. 4.
“temptation . . . too great to ignore” EC, The Last Man on the Moon, pp. 82–83.
“Life treated the men and their families” Letter, DJH to Perry Michael Whyte, Iowa State University, Jan. 1977, quoted in AC, A Man on the Moon, p. 633, n. 349.
“they are really home hardly at all” JSA to DJH, Mar. 12, 1969, p. 2.
“Certainly I realize that there are risks” Ibid., p. 1.
“ ‘I want to go see Lurton’ ” Ibid., p. 6
“I was furious” JSA to author, Sept. 10, 2004 (afternoon), p. 19.
“ ‘what about the wives?’ ” Ibid., p. 20.
“listening but not watching” “High Tension over the Astronauts,” Life, Mar. 25, 1966.
“But also I am a fatalist” Ibid.
“blah, blah, blah” JSA to author, Sept. 10, 2004 (afternoon), p. 19.
“Elliot was a hard worker, diligent” NAA to author, June 2, 2003, p. 29.
“qualifications as an astronaut” Ibid.
“ ‘Charlie was a very affable fellow’ ” Ibid., p. 34.
“I don’t have any knowledge of them having such concerns” Ibid., p. 35.
“crisscrossed with tidy streets” AC, A Man on the Moon, p. 20
“We were looking for property” NAA to author, Cincinnati, OH June 2, 2002 (morning), p. 10.
“We had a swimming pool” NAA to author, June 2, 2002, p. 27.
“children weren’t asphyxiated” JSA to DJH, El Lago, TX, n.d. (ca. March 1969), Life interview, transcript, p. 10.
“He took one leap and he was over” JSA to DJH, n.d. (ca. March 1969), p. 11.
“Ed certainly had the ability” NAA to author, June 2, 2002, p. 25.
“But no . . . Neil didn’t do that!” JSA to DJH, n.d. (ca. March 1969), p. 12.
“I just held my breath the whole time” NAA to author, June 2, 2002, p. 25.
“the longest journey” he ever made JSA to DJH, n.d. (summer 1969), p. 13.
“I’ve got an Excedrin headache” Ibid., p. 14.
“It was a terrible mess afterwards” Ibid., p. 15.
“We really made a mess of their whole place!” Ibid., p. 16.
Seabrook, Tex., April 24, 1964 (UPI) “Home of Astronaut Burns,” NYT, Apr. 24, 1964, p. 23.
“consumed by the smoke” JSA to DJH, n.d. (summer 1969), p. 13.
“It could have been catastrophic” NAA to author, June 2, 2003, p. 27.
“I never cried” JSA to DJH, n.d. (summer 1969), p. 14.
“we had minimum furniture” Ibid., p. 13.
“I’ll never forget how grateful I was to all the neighbors” Ibid., p. 15.
“a good six months” Ibid.
“His models, we saved those” Ibid., p. 16.
“It was not a ‘spec’ home” NAA to author, June 2, 2003, p. 10.
“just an inconvenience” Ibid., p. 27.
“I vowed I ’d never build another house!” JSA to DJH, n.d. (summer 1969), p. 17.
“inspectors found the cause” NAA to author, June 2, 2003, p. 25.
“detector systems” JSA to DJH, n.d. (summer 1969), p. 17.
“married to an astronaut” JSA tape-recording for DJH, transcribed Apr. 2, 1969, p. 5.
“As his wife I do keep his clothes clean for him” Ibid., p. 1.
“It never, never shows in Neil that he’s had a very distressed day” Ibid., p. 3.
“questions about his work” JSA to DJH, Mar. 12, 1969, p. 2.
“it is definitely a strain on the wife and the family” Ibid.
“miss the fun part” Ibid., p. 3.
“children are in need of something” Ibid., p. 4.
“make sure they understand what is happening” Ibid., p. 7.
“When you put your children in public” Ibid., pp. 7–8.
“Something that occurred to me the other day when I was driving the car” JSA tape recording for DJH, transcribed Apr. 2, 1969, p. 1.
“Living in the present is most important” Ibid., p. 2.
“it’s of prime importance that you are able to understand yourself” Ibid., pp. 1–2.
“maintain one’s own identity” Ibid., pp. 7–8.
“like a coffee” JSA to author, Sept. 10, 2004 (afternoon), p. 28.
ended in divorce or separation On the list of those who divorced was Buzz and Joan (Archer) Aldrin, Alan and Sue (Ragsdale) Bean, Gene and Barbara (Atchley) Cernan, Pete and Jane (DuBose) Conrad, Dick and Barbara (Field) Gordon, Fred and Mary (Monroe) Haise, Edgar and Louise (Randall) Mitchell, Dave and Lurton (Ott) Scott, Tom and Faye (Shoemaker) Stafford, Alfred and Pamela (Vander Beek) Worden, John and Barbara (White) Young, and ultimately, but not until 1994, Neil and Janet (Shearon) Armstrong. Ken Mattingly separared from his wife Elizabeth (Dailey) several years prior to her death in 1991.
“my tunnel vision” EC, The Last Man on the Moon, p. 68.
“NASA did not have a survival handbook for our wives” Ibid.
“This was my third run-through” NAA to author, June 3, 2003, p. 1.
“it wasn’t going to be successful” RFG to author, Apr. 12, 2003, p. 28.
“two vehicles in formation” NAA to author, June 3, 2003, p. 2.
“We’d go out on the beach and work out trajectory procedures” Ibid., pp. 1–2.
“a very nice flight, indeed” MC, Liftoff, pp. 111–12.
“stable orientations while tethered” NAA: e-mail to author, June 30, 2004.
“a cool and methodical demonstration” MC, Liftoff, p. 112.
“Gemini was timely and synergistic” NAA to author, June 3, 2003, p. 8.
“loss of friends” NAA: e-mail to author, July 24, 2004.
“spontaneous, friendly, and extremely warm” George Low, Latin American Tour With Astronauts Armstrong and Gordon, October 7–31, 1966, unpublished manuscript, Nov. 16, 1966, p. iii.
“Neil and Dick were out of their cars shaking hands” Ibid., p. 58.
“whether we would get out in one piece” Ibid., pp. 27–28.
“organized campaign to embarrass us” Ibid., p. 40.
“every rooftop along the motorcade route was covered with armed soldiers” Ibid., p. 57.
“the weather in Asunción” NAA to author, June 2, 2003, p. 55.
“Fernando was Dutch” NAA to author, June 2, 2003, p. 56.
“He was not an immovable type” Ibid., p. 54.
“short little speeches” Low, Latin American Tour, pp. 61–62.
“official visit by a team of scientists as well as space heroes” Ibid., p. iv.
