Whatever Happened to Neil Armstrong?
Astronaut's First Steps on the Moon Were Legendary, but the Man Remains Largely a Mystery
And yet the man who realized one of our greatest dreams has remained largely a mystery, reports CBS' "The Early Show" co-anchor Harry Smith.
Uncomfortable in the spotlight, it took Armstrong, now 78, more than 30 years to grant his first television interview with CBS' Ed Bradley.
"I guess we all like to be recognized not for one piece of fireworks but for the ledger of our daily work," he said during a 2005 interview on "60 Minutes."
There were rumors Armstrong had converted to Islam; that he had gone into hiding - all false.
The truth is Armstrong considers himself more "engineer" than "risk-taker."
"Of all of the astronauts, Neil really is on the far end of the systematic thinking engineering type," said James R. Hansen, Armstrong's authorized biographer.
But from the beginning, Armstrong had the "right stuff." He earned his wings before getting a driver's license and flew 4,000-mph rocket planes.
His wife Janet said that while she had fears about the ambitious moon mission, she had no misgivings about her husband.
"This is what Neil wanted to do and I knew that when I married him," she said on "The Early Show" Monday.
His children also watched their father's mission with faith it would all work out.
"I knew it was going to work. I mean, I just didn't have any doubt that everything was going to go well," said Rick Armstrong, who was 12 years old at the time.
Mark Armstrong, then 6, said he was "blissfully unaware of the dangers involved."
But having conquered the risks of space flight, Armstrong returned to more earthly pursuits. A professor at the University of Cincinnati in the 1970s and a board member of various corporations, Armstrong's most public role after his legendary moon mission was on the commission investigating the Challenger disaster in 1986.
"I admire the character of integrity that he has lived his life with," said Hansen. "That is a legacy for the first man on the moon that we can all be very proud of."
Even though Armstrong flies with a glider now, the first man on the moon is still at home with his feet on the ground.
(CBS) Commander Neil Armstrong's words defined our history. His historic first step onto the moon in 1969 truly was "one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." Even his name is larger than life.
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