The U.S. cannot help but put its foot in any contest it can enter. The space race was no different, with an American taking that celebrated step.
Forty years ago Monday, Apollo 11 landed with three brave Americans on the moon.
During this time, the U.S. was in a global chess match with our former Allied brothers, the Russians, then named the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
Our presence in space was sending a message. British Petroleum employee Ernie Wheeler said the message was that we were up to any challenge.
‘The Soviet Union was the big bully on the block and it helped knowing we were even at the same ends or more capable when it came to putting things into space,’ Wheeler said.
In 1961, Kennedy spoke in front of a joint congressional meeting calling for a lunar landing by the end of the decade. Eight years later, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the moon, eight months earlier than Kennedy’s prediction.
Some called it fluke or a hoax; others called it a waste of our resources. For education junior Patricia Miller the word was victory.
‘America has done a lot of great things, and landing on the moon is on the top of that list. Having our country just be a part of the space race and come out victorious is amazing to me,’ Miller said.
Like Jesse Owens in the 1936 Olympics, there was an even ground to test on. Space affected everyone the same way, no matter what race, creed or color. As history has shown, we were just quicker.
The years surrounding the first moon landing were some of the most turbulent in history. Those who expected to find peace after World War II were left scratching their heads in disbelief.
Those years were tough times for 80-year-old retiree Lucy Pike, but the moon landing was a beacon of hope.
‘You have to realize that I came up through the World War II generation,’ Pike said. ‘I think that was the one thing that held our country together during the time. I would like that to return today.’
The lunar landings are remembered as one of the greatest technological achievements in human history. There were risks, but for mathematics junior Sam Valadez, they were necessary to achieve the impossible goal.
‘We, as the awesome Americans we are, should seek out new worlds and new civilizations and space travel gives us the opportunity to do so,’ Valadez said.
This accomplishment was the vehicle for much of the pride in the country during that time, a pride that didn’t require you to be American-born to understand.
‘I left the old country in Argentina when I was 22, but naturally, I felt proud. I am an American,’ 69-year-old John Silva said.
This feeling touched people deeply and 40 years later, people still feel a connection to their country because of it. These shuttles were the only projectiles launched from our shores during the Cold War. There were casualties, but none died for a cause they were unaware of or didn’t believe in.
