A number of famous people came from a small town no one has ever heard of, Wapakoneta, Ohio. There was an author, a screenwriter, a major league baseball player and more. The person that really put this town on the map was Neil Alden Armstrong. He was the first man to walk on the moon. He was a boy scout, pilot, astronaut and engineer. As a child, Neil didn’t dream of being an astronaut. Astronauts were characters in works of fiction. All he wanted to do was become an airplane pilot.

Air flight was still young in 1936. It was the year that the first commercial airline took passengers across the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. It was also the year 6 year old Neil flew in his first airplane. He wanted to be a pilot so badly that he worked after school jobs to be able to pay to get his pilot’s license. He was a pilot before he even got a driver’s license. A year later Neil headed off to college where he studied to be an aeronautical engineer. These engineers are the people who design, build and test airplanes. At the same time he was going to college he was training to become a pilot for the United States Navy. By doing that, the Navy paid for his tuition.

Long before he stepped on the moon Neil Armstrong was a hero. In 1950, the United States was at war in Korea. The Navy sent Neil overseas to serve on an aircraft carrier named the USS Essex. He flew 78 missions and was even shot down once. He received four medals and two gold stars for his service during the war. After the war he became an engineer and test pilot for the United States. The government agency he worked for was NACA and that agency became the National Aeronautical and Space Administration or, NASA. While testing planes, he got to test the X-15. That plane still holds the world record for being the fastest airplane. On one flight it was recorded flying 4,520 miles per hour. Neil was one of only 12 pilots that got to fly the X-15.

In 1962, Neil Armstrong began training to be an astronaut. His first flight as an astronaut for NASA happened in 1966. He was the commander of the Gemini 8 mission. Three years later he was the commander of Apollo 11. That was the first manned spacecraft to land on the moon. Neil was the first human to step on the moon and millions of people from around the world watched on television as it happened. As his foot touched down he said, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” Neil Armstrong and another astronaut, Buzz Aldrin, walked around gathering rocks and dust for science experiments. After a few hours they headed home.

After retiring from NASA, Neil went to work as a college professor. Being the most famous man on Earth was not what was important to him. He also did some research for the government and space flight companies. When the Space Shuttle Challenger accident happened, he helped with the investigation. He may not have ever wanted to be a hero to millions of people, but he was.