| The 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing | | | | Assassinations were rampant and cut down several |
| will be celebrated on July 20, 2009. I was fortunate | | | | of America's brightest leaders in their prime. Yet, in |
| enough to have lived during the initial years of space | | | | the middle of all this turmoil, there was the thrill and |
| exploration and experienced the excitement and thrill | | | | excitement of watching the United States and Russia |
| of watching mankind take those first steps into | | | | race to put the first man on the moon. |
| space and onto the surface of the moon. It's hard to | | | | The Mercury program was the first baby steps into |
| describe just how exciting those times were. The | | | | space for the United States. During this program we |
| '60's were a volatile time for our country and for the | | | | learned if man could indeed live and function in space. |
| world. | | | | This was followed by the Gemini program where we |
| We were plagued with bad news all the time. Every | | | | learned the techniques and engineering steps |
| night there would be the latest news of the Vietnam | | | | necessary to land a man on the moon--rendezvous |
| War and the sacrifices made by so many of our | | | | and docking in space, space walking, designing and |
| young men. There was also the turmoil of race | | | | building spacesuits and tools necessary to work in |
| relations and political upheaval in our country. | | | | space. |