July 20, 1969. . . . This is one of those historic moments that most people can recall exactly where they were.
Mom and Pop had taken us three kids (Jimbo, Bubba and I) in our little pull camper (the kind that came out before having a flushable toilet was even an option) to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park for vacation. We had a little 6-10 inch black and white TV (with aluminum foil on the antenna to get better reception), and as a large crowd gathered around we watched the unimaginable happen.
According to Wikipedia.org - The Apollo 11 mission was the first manned mission to land on the Moon. It was the fifth human spaceflight of Project Apollo and the third human voyage to the Moon. Launched on July 16, 1969, it carried Mission Commander Neil Alden Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins, and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin Eugene 'Buzz' Aldrin, Jr. On July 20, Armstrong and Aldrin became the first humans to walk on the Moon, while Collins orbited above.
One of the most famous quotes in American history was when Neil Armstrong stepped off the Eagle's footpad and into history as the first human to set foot on another world, famously describing it as "one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."
President John F. Kennedy didn't live to see his dream come to life, but millions of people around the world enjoyed the fruits of his labor on this historic day 40 years ago.
