Neil A. Armstrong (For 6th graders and under.) For me it was an A-
...l teachers recommended that I go to Purdue because it had such strong aeronautical engineering programs. Oprah: Wasn’t your mother worried about you flying at such a young age? Neil: Yes, she was very concerned too. Oprah: Why didn’t you finish all of the college you planned out? Neil: After two years of college I was ordered to Pensacola, Florida for flight training. Oprah: Where did you go after that? Neil: Around 1950 the Korean War broke out and the navy sent me into Korea. I was assigned to Fighter Squadron 51. Oprah: How old were you then? Neil: Only 20, and was the youngest member of the squadron. Oprah: Wow! Were you awarded any special gifts or medals? Neil: Yes, I flew 78 combat missions and was honored with 3 air medals. Oprah: Wow that is pretty amazing! So did you ever return to college? Neil: Yes, I returned to college (Purdue University) two years later to finish my degree in flight engineering after leaving the navy. Oprah: Do you think this was dangerous? Neil: Yes, I almost I was almost shot twice. Oprah: Tell us how it happened. Neil: Well, I was trained air-to-air so I was in an jet looking for enemies when I was shot. I couldn’t land so I bailed out after going south of Korea. The other time was when I flew through a narrow valley and my wing was torn of. The Koreans had set up a booby trap by stretching a cable across the valley. Oprah: Were you hurt either times. Neil: No, just a couple of scratches and bruises. Oprah: Oh my god. You were pretty lucky both times by not being injured. Neil: Yes, I was very lucky. Oprah: So how does this lead you into being the first man to walk on the moon? Neil: That fall I had returned to Purdue and was accepted into the student chapter of the American Rocket Association. I was also president of a student flying organization called Aero Club. Then I graduated from Purdue with a Bachelor of Science degree. After in 1955 I applied to the National Advisory Council on Aviation (NACA) in Edward’s Air Force Base. Then National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) took over NACA. As that happened I became a test pilot for new high-speed designs. Oprah: Yes, ok. Neil: NASA had an idea of sending of sending a person to the edge of the worlds atmosphere and since I had tested many other ships I was chosen to test the X-15. The test was successful and I went to speeds of 4,000 miles per hour and as high as 40 miles. At that height I could see the spherical shape of the earth. Oprah: Was this considered a dangerous task? Neil: Yes, very dangerous. No one in the U.S. had ever tried accomplishing this before. Oprah: You must have been a very brave man. What about your wife Janet how did you meet her? Neil: Actually a couple months before I tested the X-15. I had first seen her while doing my job as a newspaper boy. We both shared the same interests like flying and space. We had became good friends over the past couple of years when I asked her on a date. But, I had to move to Los Angeles, California for NACA. Except I took a small detour to Wisconsin where Janet was living. I asked her to marry me but she said “no” Oprah: Oh my god. When did she decide to marry you? Neil: I went to California alone but a few moths later she came here to California to marry me. Oprah: Do you have any kids? Neil: Yes three, my two son’s name are Eric and Mark, but Eric liked to be called Ricky. My other daughter’s name is Karen. Oprah: How old are they? Neil: My son was born in 1956 but my daughter past away right before her third birthday. Oprah: That is so sad. How did she die? Neil: It started when I was with Karen at a park when she fell and had a small nosebleed. It didn’t look very serious so I just ignored it. That night I noticed she could not focus her eyes. So Janet and I thought she might have gotten a concussion when she fell. The next day we took her to the hospital and the pediatrician thought he hadn’t seen any signs of a concussion. So before they went back to California the doctor suggested that we go get her examined again when we get home. But then it became worse and she couldn’t even crawl ...