Union service records A Stephen Armstrong did fight in the Civil War, but his full identity is unknown. He served as a private in Company A of the 53rd Regiment of Ohio Infantry. This regiment was organized at Jackson, OH, from September 1861 to February 1862, when it was ordered to Paducah, KY. Under the direction of General William T. Sherman, an Ohio native, the 53rd participated in the Battle of Shiloh and the sieges of Corinth and Vicksburg.
with Willis’s mother Martha The Badgley children seem to have left the River Road farm even before Stephen’s Armstrong’s death. In 1871 seventeen-year-old Charles Aaron Badgley went off to study dentistry—his father’s own ambition—with an uncle, Aaron E. Badgley, in Winona, IL. Charles finished school, went into practice with his uncle, and eventually became a doctor of dental surgery in Greenfield, MO. Willis’s half sister Hettie also moved away, marrying a man from Springfield, IL, in 1877. What happened to George and Mary Jane is unknown.
vial of water from the River Jordan VEAP: “The Willis Armstrong Family, Part 1,” p. 2.
half brother Ray Ray Armstrong (b. 1895) and his first wife, whose name is not known, eventually divorced. He then married Leota Longmore Blything and lived in Pasadena, where he set up a successful electrical shop that eventually serviced the nascent motion picture industry. Upon retirement, he and Leota (“Lee”) moved to Joshua Tree, CA. He died there while in his late eighties. Stephen’s half sister Grace (1887–1969) married Ralph Koons in 1920, giving birth to three children: John, George, and Martha. The family stayed in the St. Marys area as farmers. Half sister Bernice (1890–1971) became a teacher in the Cleveland school district. She married a Canadian man by the name of George Wilmer. Together they had one child, Marjorie.
Chapter 2: The Strong of Spirit
passage to America “Armstrongs Urgrossvater stammt aus Ladbergen,” Münsterländishe Tageszeitung, Sept. 12, 1969.
“hurry home from the Moon” VEAP: “With Grandpa and the Frederick W. Katter Family,” p. 3; “Apple-Dumplings, Neil’s Favorite Dish, Await His Return from Moon,” SMEL, July 16, 1969.
Reformed Church “The Reformed Church in the U.S.,” in Handbook of Denominations in the United States, New Tenth Edition, Frank S. Mead, rev. Samuel S. Hill (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2001), pp. 297–99.
“Mother never preached” Interview with JAH, Hereford, AZ, Apr. 5, 2003.
“the way it is written” VEAP, “My religion has been something very sweet.”
underlining and margin notations VEAP: The Red Letter New Testament of OurLord and Savior Jesus Christ.
“father she never knew” JAH: e-mail to author, Aug. 22, 2003.
“loved his home and his family” VEAP: “With Grandpa,” p. 2.
an “awful surgery” Ibid., pp. 4–5.
“taken one of His flock Home” Ibid., p. 5.
Katter barnyard…“was a cemetery” Ibid., p. 8.
“angel appeared at the foot of his bed” Ibid., p. 12.
William Ernst Korspeter VEAP: “The Ernst Korspeter Family.” Viola wrote this seven-page family history of the Korspeters in February 1977. According to a postscript, the account was given to her orally by her stepfather, William Ernst Korspeter, before he died in 1969.
“sort of lonesome” VEAP: Letter, “Dearest Friend,” p. 1, in eighth-grade theme tablet.
“Memory Gems” VEAP: “Cleardale School.”
Jonathan Edwards VEAP: “Sinners in the Hand of an Angry God—Jonathan Edwards,” p. 3.
“eyes that penetrate” VEAP: “The House of Night—Philip Freneau,” p. 3.
“most charming of friends” VEAP: Signed by Doris Fischer in “My Schoolmates” section of Blume High School yearbook, 1925.
“longed to be a missionary” VEAP: Letter to Reverend Charles Sloca PhD, Fairfield, IA, Oct. 27, 1969, p. 2.
“wonderful time together” VEAP: “The Willis Armstrong Family,” p. 7.
“somehow we would manage”: Ibid.
“These talks with God” VEAP: “The Willis Armstrong Family and the Stephen Armstrong Family,” p. 11.
“thrilled beyond words” Ibid., p. 13.
“we haven’t any little Teddy yet” VEAP: Letter to husband Stephen Armstrong, “Monday evening,” Aug. 4, 1930.
“I cannot save the child” VEAP: “The Willis Armstrong Family and the Stephen Armstrong Family,” p. 15.
“beautiful little dear” Ibid.
Part Two: Tranquility Base
E Interview with JAH, Wapakoneta, Aug. 14, 2002, pp. 23–24.
Chapter 3: First Child
“teach the beauty of life” VEAP: “The Willis Armstrong Family and the Stephen Armstrong Family,” p. 15.
“breast-feed him” Ibid., p. 16.
“hallowed place” Ibid., p. 14.
“rear him according to God’s Holy Word” Ibid., p. 16.
“A little bit scared” Ibid., p. 1.
“Stand up there like a man!” Ibid., p. 5.
read street signs by age three JAH: e-mail to author, Sept. 11, 2003.
“books all around him” SKA: Exhibit recording at Neil Armstrong Air and Space Museum, Wapakoneta, ca. June 1969.
“couldn’t keep him busy all the time” “Neil Armstrong’s Grade Transcript East Elementary School, St. Marys,” part of feature in “Ohio Schools; Three of Neil’s Teachers Here Quoted,” SMEL, Sept. 23, 1969; “Astronaut Neil Armstrong Jumped Second Grade, East School; Teachers Remember Him As Excellent Pupil,” SMEL, July 11, 1969.
“always moving” NAA to author, Aug. 13, 2002, p. 8. In the view of his future wife Janet Shearon (Armstrong), so much moving around from town to town as a boy did have a damaging effect on the formation of Neil’s personality: “He didn’t have the opportunity to develop the kind of friendships with pals like I and most children did…. Every place was a new place. I’m sure it had an effect on the development of his social abilities.” JSA to author, Sept. 11, 2004 (afternoon), p. 28.
“corner, reading a book” JAH to author, Aug. 14, 2002, p. 13.
“glue, all over everything!” Ibid., p. 24.
“Goody Two-shoes” Ibid., p. 13.
“definitely a caretaker” Ibid., p. 16.
“Jump! jump! It’s okay” Ibid., pp. 24–25.
“never violated Neil’s space” DAA to author, Nov. 14, 2002, p. 11.
“consumed by learning” Ibid., p. 2.
“only had two dates in high school” Ibid., p. 8.
“never competed with Neil in any way” Ibid., p. 40.
“Dean wasn’t left out” JAH to author Aug. 14, 2002, p. 19.
“never experienced anything” ALSK to author, Aug. 15, 2002, p. 30.
“not made to hurt anyone” DAA to author, Nov. 14, 2002, p. 40.
“‘this game is over’” JAH to author, Aug. 14, 2002, pp. 16–17.
“a truthfulness about him” VEA to DJH, tape 1B, p. 10.
“wanted us to be good” JAH to author, Aug. 14, 2002, p. 23.
“stubborn rather than…opposite” Interview with MC, Mar. 25, 2003, p. 5.
“always does things on his terms” DAA to author, Nov. 14, 2002, p. 40.
“a high level of self-confidence” JAH to author, Aug. 14, 2002, p. 20.
“don’t think he ‘scared’ that much” DAA to author, Nov. 14, 2002, p. 40.
“‘Straighten up!’” JAH to author, Aug. 14, 2002, p. 14.
“didn’t think of him as being close” NAA: e-mail to author, July 23, 2003.
“never hugged” JAH to author, Aug. 14, 2002, pp. 12–13.
“Dear Mom and Family” VEAP: NAA letter, 400 Salisbury, West Lafayette, IN, to Mrs. S. K. Armstrong, May 3, 1948.
“very close and very loving” DS to author, Wapakoneta, Aug. 15, 2002, p. 3.
“one of the nicest persons” ALSK to author, Aug. 15, 2002, p. 5.
“find fault in anybody” DS to author, Aug. 15, 2002, p. 8.
“spine of the family” AF to author, Aug. 15, 2002, p. 5.
“don’t remem
ber my parents arguing” JAH to author, Aug. 14, 2002, p. 15.
“always there” Ibid., p. 15.
“the flexible one” Ibid., p. 16.
“love of the Master” VEAP: Letter to Reverend Charles Sloca, PhD, Fairfield, IA, Oct. 27, 1969, p. 6.
Taking Butchart at his word SPB to author, Lancaster, CA, Dec. 15, 2002, p. 9.
“great influence on Neil” DS to author, Aug. 15, 2002, p. 7.
“a natural for research” Crites quoted in “Astronaut’s Home Town Swept by ‘Moon Craze,’” Syracuse (NY) Post Standard, July 4, 1969, and “Moon Was a Dream to Shy Armstrong,” Dayton Journal Herald, July 11, 1969.
“never let anyone know that he knew anything” Crites quoted in “Neil Armstrong—All American Boy,” The Blade Sunday Magazine, TB, Dec. 5, 1965.
“did not see Neil argue” EFK to author, Dickinson, TX, Dec. 10, 2002, p. 27.
“in the crew quarters” CDF to author, San Diego, CA, Apr. 8, 2003, p. 27.
Cronkite dismissed the matter “Face the Nation as Broadcast over the CBS Television Network and the CBS Radio Network, Sunday, August 17, 1969—11:30 A.M.–12:30 P.M.; Origination: Houston, Texas; Guests: Crew of Apollo 11; Reporters: Walter Cronkite, CBS News, David Schoumacher, CBS News, Howard Benedict, Associated Press,” CBS transcript, p. 24.
“just wants a good cigar” DAA to author, Nov. 14, 2002. This comment was not recorded and thus is not part of the official transcript.
“a million swords to be pierced through my heart” VEAP: Letter to Reverend Sloca, Oct. 27, 1969, p. 5.
“He seems to be inspired by God” Ibid, p. 4.
Chapter 4: The Virtues of Smallville
“out in the hinterlands” This back-and-forth between Armstrong and MC is quoted in AC, A Man on the Moon, Vol. 3, p. 295.
“Small-town values” Walter M. Schirra, with Richard N. Billings, Schirra’sSpace, p. 10.
“Growing up in a small town” JG to author, Sept. 23, 2003, p. 11.
“no worse and no better” NAA to DJH, quoted in FOM, 112.
“crawl inside the mixing vats” NAA: e-mail to author, June 27, 2005.
“save a substantial part of it for college” NAA to author, Aug. 13, 2002, p. 10.
“we had painful cramps in our legs” Letter from KKS, Upper Sandusky, OH, to author, May 16, 2003, p. 5.
“Scouts can take a lot of credit for Neil” JBB quoted in “The Path of Scouting Leads to Outer Space,” p. 4.
“stars in the windows” NAA to author, Aug. 13, 2002, pp. 11–12.
“new troop” Tape-recorded letter, JBB, Concord, NH, to author, July 25, 2003, p. 3.
“a real taskmaster sort of fellow” Ibid.
“beat-up three-ring binder” Ibid., pp. 4–5.
“great acclaim under the circumstances” JBB to author, July 25, 2003, p. 4.
“less of a disciplinarian” Ibid.
“not a Scoutmaster” NAA to author, Aug. 13, 2002, p. 12.
“a wonderful combination” JBB to author, July 25, 2003, p. 5.
“‘Spit it out, it’s poison!’” Ibid., p. 5.
“Neil was furious” Ibid., pp. 5–6.
“might get drafted” NAA to author, Aug. 13, 2002, p. 12.
“one song by heart” BG to author, Wapakoneta, Aug. 15, 2002, p. 12.
“music contributed to ‘thought control’” Conn Corporation, Elkhart, IN, “Conn Baritone Player: First Man on the Moon,” press release, July 30, 1969.
“We were so bad” Jerre Maxson to DJH, Wapakoneta, ca. June 1969, tape IIA-2, quoted in FOM, p. 113.
“never have been successful commercially” NAA to author, Aug. 13, 2002, p. 13.
“be sure everything was right” BG to author, Aug. 15, 2002, p. 3.
“He just had things to do” NK to author, Aug. 15, 2002, p. 3.
“never really had a steady date” DS to author, Aug. 15, 2002, p. 6.
“no romance between us” ALSK to author, Aug. 15, 2002, p. 2.
“big thing—to get the car” DS to author, Aug. 15, 2002, pp. 3–4.
“If we got in an accident” Ibid., p. 4.
“We just drove” ALSK to author, Aug. 15, 2002, p. 16.
between the little towns of New Hampshire and St. Johns Ibid., p. 16.
“hit this ditch” DS to author, p. 4.
“Stop the car here” Ibid., p. 5.
“out of the woods” Ibid., p. 5.
“He thinks, he acts” Copy of the Blume High School yearbook for the school year 1946–47 can be reviewed at the Auglaize County Library, Wapakoneta, OH. Another copy of the yearbook is on display in Wapakoneta’s Neil Armstrong Air and Space Museum.
Chapter 5: Truth in the Air
“Neil’s main interest” JZ quoted in Lawrence Mosher, “Neil Armstrong: Man for the Moon: History Waits for Him,” NO, July 7, 1969.
“the possibility of life on other planets” JZ quoted in Boothe, “Neil Dreamed of Landing on Moon Someday,” WDN, June 27, 1969.
“made of green cheese” JZ quoted in Mosher, “Man for the Moon.”
picture of a smiling Zint Dallas Boothe, “Neil Dreamed,” WDN, June 27, 1969; “Astronomer Jakob Zint Provided Neil A. Armstrong’s First Close-Up Look at the Moon,” SMEL, June 27, 1969; Mosher, “Man for the Moon,” NO, July 7, 1969; Al Kattman, “Astronaut Realizing Teen-Age Dream: From Auglaize Farm Home to Trip and Walk in Moon,” LN, July 9, 1969; “Moon Was a Dream,” Dayton Journal Herald, July 11, 1969; “Jakob Zint, Wapakoneta Astronomer, Says ‘Neil’s Dream Has Come True,’” SMEL, July 21,1969.
“Moon through Mr. Zint’s lenses” Mosher, “Man for the Moon,” NO, July 7, 1969.
“now he’s up there” JZ quoted in “Jakob Zint, Wapakoneta Astronomer,” SMEL, July 21, 1969.
“at Jake Zint’s laboratory the one time” NAA: e-mail to author, July 12, 2003.
“his stories appear to be false” Ibid.
“Almost Too Logical to Be True” Photo caption to Mosher, “Man for the Moon.”
“thought it was fishy” ALSK to author, p. 31.
“didn’t sound right to me, either” NK to author, p. 32.
“meet the man up there” Crites quoted in Kattman, “Astronaut Realizing Teen-Age Dream,” and in Mosher, “Man for the Moon.”
“That’s fiction” NAA: e-mail to author, Sept. 15, 2003.
“don’t remember reading about the Wrights” NAA: e-mail to author, Oct. 14, 2003.
“always zooming around in the house” SKA: exhibit recording at Neil Armstrong Air and Space Museum, Wapakoneta, OH, ca. June 1969.
“I don’t know what’s true” NAA to author, Cincinnati, OH, Aug. 13, 2002, p. 5.
“skipped Sunday school” SKA: exhibit recording at Neil Armstrong Air and Space Museum, Wapakoneta, ca. June 1969.
“scared to death and Neil enjoyed it” Mosher, “Man for the Moon.”
“never any end to the dream” NAA to DJH, quoted in FOM, p. 19. See also NAA to author, Aug. 13, 2002, p. 8.
“to the stars in my machine” Tsiolkovskii quoted in A. A. Kosmodemyansky, Konstantin Tsiolkovskii—His Life and Work (Moscow, 1956), p. 8.
“Cherry tree down” All of the quotes from Robert Goddard appear in Esther C. Goddard, ed., The Papers of Robert H. Goddard (New York: McGraw-Hill,1970), Vol. 2, pp. 623–24, 651, 840; Vol. 3, p. 1216.
“can’t say they were related to flying” NAA to author, Aug. 13, 2002, p. 8.
“tried it later” NAA to DJH, not quoted in FOM. The phrases appear in a working draft of a chapter by DJH for FOM. A copy of this draft exists in the TLA.
“Should I get Mama?” JAH to author, Aug. 14, 2002, pp. 17–18.
“Never to trust a dead limb” NAA: e-mail to author, July 22, 2003.
“never thought of it as being related to my character” Ibid.
“psychological backdrop to this” NAA: e-mail to author, July 23, 2003.
“obviation of failure” Henry Petroski, To Engineer Is Human: The Role of Failure in Successful Design, p. 127
.
“focus on aviation” NAA to author, Aug. 13, 2002, p. 5.
“buy models with engines” NAA to DJH, quoted in FOM, p. 114.
fly ones…sometimes aflame DAA to author, p. 4.
“Mother would have just died” JAH to author, pp. 18–19.
“it was a rare occasion” NAA: e-mail to author, July 23, 2003.
“the model that wasn’t built well” NAA to author, Aug. 13, 2003, p. 6.
“operational aspects of an airplane” NAA to SA&DB, in Quest, p. 6–7.
“anything I could get my hands on” NAA to SA&DB, Quest, p. 7.
“comic books” Charles Brading quoted in “Moon Was a Dream.”
“never get off the ground” SSK: letter to author May 16, 2003, p. 4.
“fighter-type model” AF to author, Aug. 15, 2002, p. 7.
“I would win a number” NAA to author, Aug. 13, 2002, p. 7.
“‘control-line’ models” Ibid., p. 6.
“absorbed a lot of new knowledge” Ibid.
“rode a bike with no fenders” Jerre Maxson quoted in “Astronaut’s Home Town Swept by ‘Moon Craze,’” Syracuse (NY) Post-Standard, July 4, 1969.
“‘top cylinder overhauls’” NAA to author, Aug. 13, 2002, p. 19.
“He learned to fly” VEA to DJH, tape 1A, pp. 5–6.
“around town talking, telling…stories” NAA to author, Aug. 13, 2002, p. 19.
“but what did I know!” NAA to author, Aug. 13, 2002, p. 18.
“didn’t need a car” SKA quoted in Mosher, “Man for the Moon.”
“could solo in a glider at age fourteen” NAA to SA&DB, in Quest, p. 8.
“‘Oh, oh, here I go!’” NK to author, p. 11.
“lone wolf” DS quoted in John McGuire, “Neil Armstrong—All American Boy.”
“never expressed any fear” JAH to author, Aug. 14, 2002, p. 21.
“an exceptionally special day” NAA to author, Aug. 13, 2002, p. 20.
“didn’t bounce it like I did” NK to author, p. 11.
“not like that technique at all” NAA to author, Aug. 13, 2002, p. 19.
“saw the plane go down” DAA to author, p. 16.
Lange died in Neil’s arms “Frederick C. Lange Victim of Accident,” LimaNews, July 28, 1947; “Flying Student Killed in Plane Accident Saturday,” WDN, July 28, 1947.
“pretty severe impact” NAA to author Aug. 13, 2002, p. 21.
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