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 narrator recounts several encounters with a highly modest astronaut, implicitly Neil Armstrong, beginning with a visit to the Wright brothers' mansion in the early 1970s where she realized she was with the first man to walk on the moon.
Armstrong consistently downplayed his historic achievement, referring to his moonwalk as "just another mission," a testament to his profound humility.
The article features anecdotes illustrating Armstrong's self-effacing nature, including an English friend mistaking him for merely "some sort of engineer" and his detailed, unassuming explanation of aviation technology to his grandson at a museum.
Ultimately, the author celebrates Armstrong's quiet intellect, deep passion for engineering, and extraordinary modesty, urging readers to honor his example of service and accomplishment.

See a mistake? Contact us.

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.