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America mourns Neil Armstrong
America is mourning the death of Neil Armstrong, the first man to set foot on the Moon back in 1969 with those famous words: “That’s one small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind.”
The 82-year-old Armstrong, who had undergone heart bypass surgery earlier this month, died in Cincinnati on Saturday.
The former Apollo 11 mission commander had often said that he did not want to live his life as an icon, but just be remembered for that walk which he and Buzz Aldrin had made on the moon.
“I guess we all like to be recognized not for one piece of fireworks but for the ledger of our daily work,” Armstrong had said in an interview on CBS’s “60 Minutes” in 2005. He has often taken the stand that while he and Aldrin made the first lunar landing, they merely piloted a mission made possible by thousands of others.
But tributes poured in from all quarters on Saturday as Armstrong’s family announced his death due to complications following the bypass surgery on August 5.
President Barack Obama led the nation in paying homage, hailing Armstrong as “among the greatest of American heroes — not just of this time, but of all time”.
“When Neil stepped foot on the surface of the moon for the first time, he delivered a moment of human achievement that will never be forgotten,” Obama said and praised Armstrong for inspiring men and women “who have devoted their lives to exploring the unknown — including those who are ensuring that we reach higher and go further in space”.
“That legacy will endure — sparked by a man who taught us the enormous power of one small step,” said Obama, who has faced criticism for his space policy that has shifted the focus from manned missions to putting more emphasis on private space exploration. Armstrong himself was a critic of the Obama move announced in 2010.
Said Mitt Romney, the Republican presidential candidate: “Neil Armstrong today takes his place in the hall of heroes. With courage unmeasured and unbounded love for his country, he walked where man had never walked before. The moon will miss its first son of earth.”
Recalling his time with Armstrong, Aldrin told BBC radio that he would remember him as “a very capable commander and leader of an achievement that will be recognized until man sets foot on the planet Mars”.
America is mourning the death of Neil Armstrong, the first man to set foot on the Moon back in 1969 with those famous words: “That’s one small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind.”
The 82-year-old Armstrong, who had undergone heart bypass surgery earlier this month, died in Cincinnati on Saturday.
The former Apollo 11 mission commander had often said that he did not want to live his life as an icon, but just be remembered for that walk which he and Buzz Aldrin had made on the moon.
“I guess we all like to be recognized not for one piece of fireworks but for the ledger of our daily work,” Armstrong had said in an interview on CBS’s “60 Minutes” in 2005. He has often taken the stand that while he and Aldrin made the first lunar landing, they merely piloted a mission made possible by thousands of others.
But tributes poured in from all quarters on Saturday as Armstrong’s family announced his death due to complications following the bypass surgery on August 5.
President Barack Obama led the nation in paying homage, hailing Armstrong as “among the greatest of American heroes — not just of this time, but of all time”.
“When Neil stepped foot on the surface of the moon for the first time, he delivered a moment of human achievement that will never be forgotten,” Obama said and praised Armstrong for inspiring men and women “who have devoted their lives to exploring the unknown — including those who are ensuring that we reach higher and go further in space”.
“That legacy will endure — sparked by a man who taught us the enormous power of one small step,” said Obama, who has faced criticism for his space policy that has shifted the focus from manned missions to putting more emphasis on private space exploration. Armstrong himself was a critic of the Obama move announced in 2010.
Said Mitt Romney, the Republican presidential candidate: “Neil Armstrong today takes his place in the hall of heroes. With courage unmeasured and unbounded love for his country, he walked where man had never walked before. The moon will miss its first son of earth.”
Recalling his time with Armstrong, Aldrin told BBC radio that he would remember him as “a very capable commander and leader of an achievement that will be recognized until man sets foot on the planet Mars”.
