Astronaut Neil Armstrong Dies at 82

[IslandHopper]

Very sad news.......RIP

Astronaut Neil Armstrong dies at 82 | Fox News

[HopCar]

He was my hero. The world is a less interesting place with out Neil Armstrong.

When I was 19 I was working as a photographer for a small newspaper. One day the editor handed me a card. It was a press pass to the Apollo 11 launch.

The night before the launch I slept on the ground at the press site about three miles from the launch pad. That Saturn V was stunningly beautiful bathed in about a billion candle power of light. It was the whitest white I've ever seen. A plume of liquid oxygen steam trailed off into the night.

The next day when those five big engines fired, a shock wave was visible coming across the water in front of the press site. When it hit you there was a distinct thump in your chest.

I was just a kid standing there with some of the worlds best journalists. Walter Cronkite was further from the rocket than I was. All of these seasoned journalists started chanting as one, Go, Go, Go. The chant went on until the rocket was out of sight.

Forty years later on the anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission, I was privileged to hear Neil Armstrong speak at the Smithsonian. The man was the most intelligent and articulate speaker I've ever heard. I could have listened to him all night.

[David M]

A true hero.

[callmecrazy]

Passing at 82 years after living such an extraordinary and fulfilling life is no tragedy at all.

Godspeed

[GaryMayo]

Lots of people checking out lately:

Recent Celebrity Deaths Famous Hollywood stars who died today 2012, 2011

RIP

[rognvald]

A society defines itself by its heroes. A hero represents the best that a culture has to offer since he/she is able to accomplish things the average person cannot. Odysseus, Beowulf,Julius Caesar,Hannibal,Alexander the Great, Charles Martel,Leif Erickson, Attila, Columbus,Marco Polo, Joan of Arc, to name a few, represented the pinnacle of their cultures and live in the thoughts and imagination of educated and intelligent people today. Neil Armstrong was a hero since he possessed intelligence, ability, courage, perserverance and character. He is an American icon and a icon for the world. He and his kind should be the role models for every culture since when we strive for excellence rather than mediocrity and fashion, the culture and civilization benefits. And, the difference between cultures today can be measured by the amount of hereos, both large and small, a country possesses. It would be interesting to know if you stopped the average person on the street today and asked them if they knew who Neal Armstrong was and what he did if they would know. I'm sure, however, they would surely know Lady Gaga, Michael Jackson and Kim Kardashian.
A society really does define itself by its heroes.

[tropicalescape]

Originally Posted by rognvald

A society defines itself by its heroes. A hero represents the best that a culture has to offer since he/she is able to accomplish things the average person cannot. Odysseus, Beowulf,Julius Caesar,Hannibal,Alexander the Great, Charles Martel,Leif Erickson, Attila, Columbus,Marco Polo, Joan of Arc, to name a few, represented the pinnacle of their cultures and live in the thoughts and imagination of educated and intelligent people today. Neil Armstrong was a hero since he possessed intelligence, ability, courage, perserverance and character. He is an American icon and a icon for the world. He and his kind should be the role models for every culture since when we strive for excellence rather than mediocrity and fashion, the culture and civilization benefits. And, the difference between cultures today can be measured by the amount of hereos, both large and small, a country possesses. It would be interesting to know if you stopped the average person on the street today and asked them if they knew who Neal Armstrong was and what he did if they would know. I'm sure, however, they would surely know Lady Gaga, Michael Jackson and Kim Kardashian.
A society really does define itself by its heroes.

All true ...when I here kids say that some ball player or the other is there hero it makes me wonder why someone that is playing a game is more important than someone like Neil or the men and women who go out everyday to defend and protect us ...real heros are people that dont play games,but rather people that make the ultimate sacrifice for love of humanity and country....real heros will live on forever!..DVC

[SkiprJohn]

A true hero. So sad he's gone.

[sneuman]

Armstrong, like Grissom, Glenn and lots of other astronauts, sprouted like rockets from the cornfields of the Midwest. True, blue, American kids.

If you ever want to hear the epitome of calm, collected behavior under immense pressure, it's worth listening to the commo of Armstrong, Aldrin and Mission control in the final descent of the Apollo 11 LM. Armstrong realizes that the designated landing site is strewn with boulders and calmly picks out a new one. With just barely 30 seconds of fuel left, Aldrin counts down as Armstrong is *manually* landing the thing! The set down with something like 20 seconds left. All without a hint of anxiety in their voices.

[Jbaffoh]

I'm a little surprised the moon landing denier lunatics haven't popped up here to claim it was all a hoax.

[micah719]

A society defines itself by its heroes.

It also reflects this by what it names its ships.

RIP Neil.

[rfindlaywd]

He made a great contribution. A true hero!

[GaryMayo]

Originally Posted by Jbaffoh

I'm a little surprised the moon landing denier lunatics haven't popped up here to claim it was all a hoax.

O, we are here, but we show respect when we have our tin foil hats on.

RIP

[GaryMayo]

I want to be 100% respectful to this man in honoring his service to his country, however, the word hero is better used to describe the quiet neighbor no one remembers that breaks into a burning house at 3am to wrap the children and family members in blankets and pushing them out windows to safety as he / she is consumed in the fire.

While I do respect his achievements, which are many, and not limited to the astronaut program of which he was one of their brightest lights, his bravery was a different focus.

He was not falling on a grenade brave, he was strapping a grenade to his backside brave and seeing where it would take him. Through the use of slide rules and partnerships with many brilliant minds, it took him a long ways, and back again.

Remember, history is always written by the winning side.

[Blue Stocking]

In the context of this mans death, for whom I have the greatest respect, I often wonder which charcteristic comes first in the creation of the event.
Trust ,or heroism ?
Was he able to accomplish this event because of his inpenetratable trust in the many peolple who worked long and hard to sit him on top of that Roman Candle,
Or his he one of those rare persons who possess that something about self-destiny that leads to this type of participation in world events.
With the greatest of respect--was he more--or less brave than Yuri Gagarin