Nixon was ready to report NASA deaths

Sorry, Walt, but that article needs to be filed under a National Enquirer story headline.

The US did not just cross its fingers like the Soviets did when hurling men into space. The tragedy of Apollo 1 taught them not to.

First, any "take off" subsequent to the first one from Earth would be by the LEM from the Moon and Mike Collins was flying miles above it in the orbiting capsule, so any disaster upon take off of the LEM would have spared Mike Collins

Second, the issue with computer navigation problems upon Lunar descent were due to an overloaded circuit that kept firing its alarm "1202" as the Eagle descended but had no consequence to the landing.

Third, the statement that the LEM had "only 15 seconds of fuel left" as it landed at Tranquilty Base is really a misinterpratation of the event. The LEM still could have aborted its mission safely and with other fuel cells return to the command module and actually the LEM had an additional back-up of about another minute of fuel before it would have fallen several meters to the surface of the Moon.

Armstrong was about the best pilot the US had in NASA at that time (although Chuck Yeager, who flew with Armstrong as fellow test pilots in X-15s would say that Armstrong was a "mechanical pilot" who did not know how really to fly). and Buzz Aldrin was the most experienced EVA astronaut in NASA from his time space walking outside his Gemini capsule. He was also the smartest of the astronauts, a pain-in-the-ass to the rest of his colleagues and a stickler for details....a guy anyone would want alongside on a trip to the Moon.

America sent its very best on that mission, although Deke Slaten offered to Armstrong Jim Lovell (eventual commander of the ill-fated Apollo 13) if the former had any problems with Aldrin. Armstrong declined as much because it would have meant a demotion for Lovell being made third in command as the LEM pilot.

Both Armstrong and Aldrin were US jet fighter pilots during the Korean War.

No Apollo Program astronaut died in space. White, Grissom, and Chaffee all died in the Apollo 1 capsule while on the launch pad testing communications equipment.

24 American astronauts went to the Moon and back, with 12 walking on it over a three year period from July 1969 to December 1972.

I am blessed because I am of the generation of humans who watched it happen.

In a 1,000 years those living will recall only one name from this era, Neil Armstrong.

We chose to go to the Moon, not because it would be easy but because it would be hard.

May that be our epitaph and this our home.