Armstrong, Neil Alden

Neil Armstrong holds the distinction of being the first man to walk on the moon. Armstrong joined the Navy in 1949 as an aviator and flew combat missions up until 1952. In the last two years of that service, he flew 78 combat missions over Korea. Armstrong transitioned to the U.S. Naval Reserve and remained there for eight years, until resigning from his commission in 1960. During his time in the Navy, Armstrong logged a total of 2,600 hours in flight, including 1,100 in jet aircraft. After being selected as an astronaut by NASA in 1962, and acted as a backup command pilot for his first mission, Gemini V. He subsequently served as command pilot for the Gemini VIII mission, backup command pilot for the Gemini XI mission, and was backup commander on Apollo VIII. Throughout the first lunar landing mission, Apollo XI, Armstrong served as spacecraft commander and was the first man to walk on the surface of the moon. He left NASA in 1971 and taught engineering at the University of Cincinnati until 1980. Throughout his professional career, Armstrong was decorated by 17 countries and received a plethora of special honors. Neil Armstrong passed away 25 August, 2012 at age eighty two.