Neil Armstrong: Knowing the Kid From Wapakoneta

Saturday, June 22, 2013 at 12:27 AM ET

Verified

** Martha Lunken impersonates Katharine
Wright with the kid from Wapakoneta at the
controls of a replica Wright Flyer. The replica
was built of composite materials by students
at Utah State University.** Flying Magazine

Key Takeaways:

The author recounts several personal encounters with Neil Armstrong, consistently highlighting his profound modesty and unassuming nature despite his monumental achievement as the first man on the moon.
Armstrong's humility was so deep that an acquaintance, after a lengthy technical discussion, mistakenly identified him only as "some sort of engineer," unaware of his true identity.
A poignant anecdote from a warbird museum president further illustrates Armstrong's character, showing him passionately explain complex aircraft engineering to his grandson while remaining intensely private about his own accomplishments.

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The following article is from the January 2013 print issue.

Way back in the early ’70s, an old friend of my husband’s, Harry Combs, invited us to join him and his wife at the National Aviation Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremony and dinner in Dayton, Ohio. Serving as master of ceremonies that year, Combs was also playing host to a famous “space guy” and his wife for the weekend. Ebby didn’t want to drive the 50-some miles to Dayton and stay over for the weekend, but he relented when I threw a hissy fit of massive proportions.