# Neil Armstrong -first man on moon has died **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 25, 2012, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-armstrong-first-man-on-moon-has-died/632631 "2012-08-25T19:17:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Ruby\_Slippers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/94ad74/32.png) [@Ruby\_Slippers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby_Slippers)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2012, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-armstrong-first-man-on-moon-has-died/632631/21 "2012-08-25T19:59:42Z")
Just reading these short tributes is choking me up. He was a great man who shunned the spotlight. I grew up in the same Ohio county he did and remember when he was first selected for the astronaut program. Long before his walk on the moon, the signs went up as you entered his hometown, “Welcome to Wapakoneta. Home of Neil Armstrong, First Civilian Astronaut.” There’s also a Neil Armstrong Space Museum there now, looking almost out of place in its rural surroundings. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2012, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-armstrong-first-man-on-moon-has-died/632631/22 "2012-08-25T20:00:57Z")
Never forget [the headline](http://www.theonion.com/articles/july-21-1969,10515/). RIP, Neil. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2012, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-armstrong-first-man-on-moon-has-died/632631/23 "2012-08-25T20:02:36Z")
> [@LawMonkey](#): > > At least we still have Buzz to kick anyone’s ass who denies the moon landing. > > One small step for a man. As much as I hold both Buzz and Neil in high regard, there’s a part of me that always wished Buzz would’ve been the first down the egress. Not sure if his first words would have been as perfect as Armstrong’s, but Buzz has always been a slightly bigger hero of mine… especially after he gave that moon-hoaxer his right hook. It’d be poetic if Neil was cremated, and they could someday place it near the Apollo 11 site. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2012, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-armstrong-first-man-on-moon-has-died/632631/24 "2012-08-25T20:02:40Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > How many of the twelve moonwalkers are still walking around \*this \*orb? Eight. Aldrin, Bean, Mitchell, Scott, Young, Duke, Cernan, and Schmitt. Of the astronauts who flew to the Moon and did not land, Jack Swigert (Apollo XIII), Stu Roosa (Apollo XIV), and Ron Evans (Apollo XVII) have died. ---
**Author:** ![Santos\_L\_Halper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/santos_l_halper/32/1_2.png) [@Santos\_L\_Halper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santos_L_Halper)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2012, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-armstrong-first-man-on-moon-has-died/632631/25 "2012-08-25T20:03:10Z")
Another of my childhood heroes is gone. Rest in Peace, Professor Armstrong ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2012, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-armstrong-first-man-on-moon-has-died/632631/26 "2012-08-25T20:06:39Z")
It’s hard to imagine how anyone could top being the first man on the moon, but it doesn’t seem that he did much afterward except cash in on his feat by serving on various corporate boards, while suing anybody else who tried to do the same, to the point where he wouldn’t even sign autographs in case somebody might later sell one. So this is a meh for me. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2012, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-armstrong-first-man-on-moon-has-died/632631/27 "2012-08-25T20:08:14Z")
I feel old. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2012, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-armstrong-first-man-on-moon-has-died/632631/28 "2012-08-25T20:09:25Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > If you didn’t live through that era, you might not understand my excitement toward the X-planes and Rocket Men. It was an exciting time in bleeding-edge aviation. And now a hero of that time and my youth has died. +1 As another Space Baby I am stunned at how this has shaken me, even having been aware of his advancing age and condition. [And we’re gonna have to get used to it.](http://xkcd.com/893/) Damn, NOW I feel middle age… gotta go comfort a rocket-crazy 8-year-old inside me… ---
**Author:** ![Caveat\_lector\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea5d25/32.png) [@Caveat\_lector\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caveat_lector_1)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2012, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-armstrong-first-man-on-moon-has-died/632631/29 "2012-08-25T20:09:27Z")
A sad day. It reminds me that in the not to distant future there might not be a living human being who has set foot on a place other than the Earth. Godspeed, Mr. Armstrong. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2012, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-armstrong-first-man-on-moon-has-died/632631/30 "2012-08-25T20:12:35Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > Never forget [the headline](http://www.theonion.com/articles/july-21-1969,10515/). > > RIP, Neil. One of the best. I used to have that hanging on my cubicle wall at my old job. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2012, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-armstrong-first-man-on-moon-has-died/632631/31 "2012-08-25T20:13:33Z")
He has left footprints for us to follow. and [He has slipped the surly bonds of earth.](http://youtu.be/IoL-KCFbIpA) ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2012, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-armstrong-first-man-on-moon-has-died/632631/32 "2012-08-25T20:16:12Z")
No condolences from me. He did the single coolest thing a human has ever done and he lived to the ripe old age of 82. Not a bad deal. Godspeed! ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2012, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-armstrong-first-man-on-moon-has-died/632631/33 "2012-08-25T20:17:28Z")
Thank you Commander, thank you very much. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2012, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-armstrong-first-man-on-moon-has-died/632631/34 "2012-08-25T20:21:59Z")
[From NASA](http://www.nasa.gov/topics/people/features/armstrong_obit.html). ---
**Author:** ![FluffyBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecb155/32.png) [@FluffyBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FluffyBob)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2012, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-armstrong-first-man-on-moon-has-died/632631/35 "2012-08-25T20:22:12Z")
Speechless RIP Neil. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2012, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-armstrong-first-man-on-moon-has-died/632631/36 "2012-08-25T20:23:12Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > +1 As another Space Baby I am stunned at how this has shaken me, even having been aware of his advancing age and condition. Me too. I literally gasped a bit when I read this. I then told the SO sitting a few feet from me “OMFG do you know who just died?” followed by lonnggg pause then “he was 82 years old…” and she then asked " who?" a couple of times while I gather enough composure to utter in a very weak and shakey voice “Neil…Armstrong…” Then I had to go outside because suddenly I had a shitload of lunar dust in my eyes for some reason ☹ Its like the era of American “can do spirit” has finally and officially died ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2012, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-armstrong-first-man-on-moon-has-died/632631/37 "2012-08-25T20:23:46Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > +1 As another Space Baby I am stunned at how this has shaken me, even having been aware of his advancing age and condition. > > [And we’re gonna have to get used to it.](http://xkcd.com/893/) Damn, NOW I feel middle age… gotta go comfort a rocket-crazy 8-year-old inside me… Another one here. I remember Sputnik being launched, Alan Shepard, Glenn’s orbit, and Kennedy’s speech about putting a man on the moon and how much excitement it all generated. I used to draw rocket ships in 5th grade instead of doing schoolwork. Armstrong was an American icon and a hero to every boy from that era. ---
**Author:** ![Laggard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@Laggard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laggard)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2012, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-armstrong-first-man-on-moon-has-died/632631/38 "2012-08-25T20:27:42Z")
Balls of steel. No matter what someone else accomplished he walked on the moon. Got your PHD? I was on the fucking moon. Kids an honor roll student? BFD. I was on the fucking moon. Yet he wasn’t like that. God speed, sir! ---
**Author:** ![AnalogSignal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/analogsignal/32/1085_2.png) [@AnalogSignal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnalogSignal)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2012, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-armstrong-first-man-on-moon-has-died/632631/39 "2012-08-25T20:27:44Z")
One giant sleep for a man. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Knig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@Typo\_Knig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Knig)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2012, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-armstrong-first-man-on-moon-has-died/632631/40 "2012-08-25T20:41:13Z")
He’s bound to be the most famous man in post-Roman history, yet he did not cash in on his fame, or wallow in it. It’s sad when the great ones go. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-armstrong-first-man-on-moon-has-died/632631.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neil-armstrong-first-man-on-moon-has-died/632631.md?page=3)